Letters of James Murray, loyalist;

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LETTERS OF

JAMES MURRAY

LOYALIST

EDITED BY

NINA MOORE TIFFANY

ASSISTED BY

SUSAN I. LESLEY

PRINTED: NOT PUBLISHED

BOSTON

1901

K

A, \sc\i

COPYRIGHT

BY SUSAN I. LESLEY

1901

TO ALL THE DESCENDANTS OF
JAMES MUERAT

PREFACE

Late in the year 1885 my uncle, James Murray
Robbins, died at Brush Hill, Milton, the last of
three generations of honorable men who had owned
or occupied the estate for many years. His wife,
Frances Mary Robbins, was the daughter of Abiel
Harris, of Portsmouth, N. H. They lived together
most happily, from their marriage in 1834, till Mrs.
Robbins' s death in 1870, which was a great grief to
him. But he continued to live on in the old home
with his kindest of sisters, making many friends
happy by his large hospitality. He was one of the
most companionable of men, delighting nieces,
nephews, and young friends with his stories of his
own adventures in youth, and his reading and com-
mentaries on what he read. His wife was one of the
early Abolitionists and a most earnest advocate of
Emancipation. She brought to the house all those
she loved best. For Garrison, my uncle had a great
reverence and admiration, and for Edmund Quincy,
Wendell Phillips, and Maria W. Chapman and her
sisters, a warm regard, and they soon became inti-

vi PREFACE

mate friends, in their devotion to a great cause.
My uncle had the warmest sympathy with these
friends, but he had not the ardent temperament of
his wife, and was, besides, a very hopeful man and
a thoughtful reader of both ancient and modern
history. And I think he felt in the trend of
events almost a certainty that slavery would be at
an end, before his own death, and he rejoiced un-
speakably that it was so. But I fear slavery would
not have ended had all men been as quiet and inert
as he was.

Soon after Mr. Eobbins's death his executors put
into my hands a large box of letters and papers,
written either by or to his grandfather, James
Murray. They had lain many years untouched in
the garret at Brush Hill. Finding that several of the
descendants of my great-grandfather would like to
know more of him, I began to put the large collec-
tion of material in order for examination and selec-
tion. Before I had gone far in that work I was
compelled by ill health to abandon it. But after
a long time of seeking, I found a most competent
person in Mrs. Francis B. Tiffany, of St. Paul, Min-
nesota, to take it up and edit it. She has done her
work with great care, and I owe her heartiest thanks
for the results. Mrs. Tiffany's previous literary
work has quahfied her pecuharly to arrange these

PREFACE vii

scattered and fragmentary materials, and her con-
necting links and footnotes will do much to explain
the sequence of the letters, and sustain the interest
by giving them some semblance of a narrative.

The present volume contains only a small portion
of the letters which have come down to us through
the old Brush Hill garret. The task of selection
has not been an easy one. The editors had not
the privilege of choosing from a complete corre-
spondence and so making anything Uke a symmetri-
cal biographical memoir. Letters which must have
been written concerning the important events of
the Revolutionary war have disappeared ; and nat-
urally many of those which have been preserved
were of temporary value and significance. The
fact that there are but few available documents
relating to the Colonial history of North Carolina
has led to the inclusion of a larger proportion of
the letters from that period of James Murray's life,
— not for their intrinsic interest, but as a contribu-
tion to the historical material of the time.

The original spelling of these letters has been
in most instances carefully reproduced. I remem-
ber that some years ago, two friends, gentlemen,
were looking over old papers, and one said : " The
speUing is so bad, I must think it a sign of illit-
eracy." " By no means," said the other. " Those

viii PREFACE

writers happened to live in a period when orthogra-
phy was optional."

The illustrations given have been collected from
various sources. The original Copley portrait of
James Murray is now in the possession of Mr. Frank
Lyman, but the frontispiece is from a photograph
of a copy made by Margaret L. Bush-Brown, which
gave a clearer impression and is more suitable for re-
production in photogravure. The portraits of Mrs.
Inman and Dorothy Forbes are from photographs
of the original Copleys now in the possession of the
Revere and Forbes families. I am indebted to my
friend, Mr. Bronson Murray, of New York, for the
portraits of James Murray's ancestors and of his
brother, Dr. John Murray.

A genealogical table is placed in the Appendix,
together with a number of miscellaneous documents
which seemed relevant and appropriate to the pre-
sent collection. These consist of a sketch of the
Murray family, by Sarah Lydia Howe ; a short no-
tice of Robert Bennet (James Murray's maternal
grandfather), from Jeffrey's " History and Antiq-
uities of Roxburghshire ; " a notice of Dr. John
Murray, of Norwich ; a letter from Mary Murray
concerning the death of her father. Dr. John Mur-
ray ; a short note concerning Dorothy Murray ; and
two bonds given by Mrs. Inman to her grand-

PREFACE ix

nephews, John and Ealph Forbes. The original
bonds are now in the possession of Mr. Archibald
M. Howe, and seem most characteristic and illustra-
tive of her attractive personahty.

I take pleasure in including in the Appendix the
biographical sketch of my uncle James by our dear
Governor Wolcott, which he wrote for the Histori-
cal Society, and told me I might use either in
whole or in part, if I would have his permission
confirmed by the Society. This I had no difficulty
in doing a year before Governor Wolcott died.

I cannot close without warm thanks to my friend,
Miss Catharine I. Ireland, for many months of excel-
lent work at verification and selection, and to my
kinsman, Mr. Bronson Murray, for much sympathy
and valuable information ; and also to my cousin,
Archibald M. Howe, for his assistance.

SUSAN I. LESLEY.
Milton, October, 1901.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER, 1718-1735 1

II. A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA,

1735-1763 20

in. BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY, 1749-1773 103

IV. A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON, 1765-1778 . 150

V. IN EXILE, 1770-1781 255

APPENDIX .... 291

INDEX 317

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
James Mueeay Frontispiece

After the painting by Copley.
Sketch of Unthank 2

By Mrs. Cutting, a descendant of Dr. John Murray.

John Murkat of Bowhill 8

John Murray of Philiphatigh 10

FACSnUILB OF THE DOCUMENT SHOWING JaMES MuRRAt's

Reinstatement as a Member of the Council in

North Carolina 92

Dr. John Murray 102

From the painting by Samuel Lane in the possession of

Mr. John Marshall Guion of Seneca Falls, N. Y.
Dorothy Murray : Mrs. John Forbes 118

From the painting by Copley in the possession of the

Forbes Family.
The House at Brush Hill, Milton 120

From a drawing by Ellen S. Bulfinch.
Elizabeth Murray : Mrs. Inman 150

From the painting by Copley in the possession of the

Revere Family.
Facsimile op the Commission of James Murray as

Justice of the Peace in Massachusetts .... 158

The Inman House, Cambridge 180

Facsimile Letter 214

Elizabeth Murray : Mrs. Robbins 256

From the painting (about 1820) by Chester Harding.

LETTERS OF

JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

CHAPTER I

ON THE SCOTTISH BOEDER
1713-1735

Among the farms of Roxburghshire, in the valley
of the Ewes, a valley which Dorothy Wordsworth
characterizes as "unknown to song," but to her
"more interesting than Teviot itself," is Unthank,
the birthplace and early home of James Murray.
Around it, as it hes far up the long deep glen, rise
hills, some of them over two thousand feet high,
grassy below, feathery with heath at top, and
browsed over in the silence and remoteness by num-
berless sheep. A little ridge on the brae side is all
that is left now to show where once stood the house
leased by James Murray's father from the Duke of
Buccleuch. This ridge, deserted by all save the
lambkins which play about under the trees, is pro-
tected still by its group of " Scots firs," with reddish
brown bark and cone-laden branches, while at the
foot of the brae is a small lonely burying-ground

2 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

inclosed by a low -waU.^ For any sign of living
human presence one must to-day look to a dwelling-
house nearer the river's side, built perhaps at the
end of the eighteenth century, comfortable and
commodious, but not suggestive of the earlier time.
The road which runs past this house, following the
river and traversing the vaUey from end to end,
was once a traveled route from Harwick to Carlisle,
but is now almost deserted except by the shepherds
and the few inhabitants of the valley. Unthank
Burn, falling into the Ewes upon the east, stiU fur-
ther identifies the estate, which, to be more definite,
is three miles and a quarter below Mosspaul by
river and road, six miles above Langholm.

Yet while geographically Unthank is in Rox-
burghshire, ecclesiastically it is included in the
Dumfrieshire parish of Ewes ; and it is to the Ewes
parish register that we must look for the records of
the births of James's brothers and sisters.^ There,

1 For this description of Unthank we are indebted to a letter
written to Mrs. Lesley by Mr. Walter MacLeod.

^ Among James Murray's papers is the following memorandum :
The Births of the Children of John Murray of Unthank tennant born
4 Febry 1677 by Annie Bennet his wife born Novr 1694, married
the 29th day of April 1712.

1. James Murray, born Sunday, Augst 9th, 1713.

2. Archibald, born Friday, April 15th, 1715.

3. Barbara, born Sunday, Febry 3, 1717.

4. Anne, born Friday, Jany 23, 1719.

5. John, born Tuesday, Jany 18, 1721.

6. Andrew, born Jany 3, 1723.

7. William, bom Wednesday, Apr. 10th 1724.

8. Elizabeth, born Thursdy, July 7th, 1726.

9. Andrew, born Wednesdy, Apr. 10th, 1728.

y^,'^^-fc

\ \

ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER 3

too, the marriage of his father, John Murray of Un-
thank, to his cousin Anne Bennet, daughter of the
Laird of Chesters, is set down, though the more pic-
turesque announcement of marriage intentions, jaro
primo, pro secundo, pro tertio, is in the register of
the Bennet's parish of Ancrum.

The name of Murray is a familiar one in Scottish
annals. First of the Murrays in our record ^ stands

1 Line of descent from Archibald de Moravia to John Murray of
Bowhill, taken from Burke's Landed Gentry, 7th ed., vol. ii. p.
1323.

Archibald de Moravia, mentioned in the chartulary of Newbottle,
1280. In 1296 subscribed the oath of fealty to Edward I., and d.
in the reign of Robert Bruce, leaving a son and successor,

Roger de Moravia, who obtained, 1321, from James Lord Douglas,
... a charter, "Terrarum de Fala." . . . Roger d. 1330 [earlier
editions say 1380]. His great-grandson,

Patrick Murray of Falahill, acquiring land about Philiphaugh, had a
charter dated 20 Feb., 1477, . . . was s. by his son,

John Murray of Falahill, . . . the celebrated " Outlaw Murray,"
who . . . bid defiance to the King of Scotland, James IV. . . .
The Outlaw . . . was s. by his elder son,

James Murray of Falahill, who dying about . . . 1529, was s. by his
elder son,

Patrick Murray of Falahill, who obtained under the Great Seal a
charter, dated 28 Jan., 1528, " Terrarum de Philiphaugh," and had
the heritable sherifEship of Selkirkshire . . . confirmed and rati-
fied to himself and his heirs. . . . m. 1st, Margaret Fleming ;
2ndly, a dau. of Borthwick ; 3rdly, Elizabeth Ormiston, widow.
. . . d. 1580, leaving his grandson (the son of James the younger,
of Falahill) his heir.

Patrick Murray of Falahill, m. 1st, Agnes, dan. of Sir Andrew Mur-
ray of Black Barony ; and 2ndly, Marian, dau. of Sir Lewis Bel-
lendon. By his first wife he had . . .

Sir John Murray, Knt., of Philiphaugh [d. 1640]. He m. 1st, Janet,
dau. of Sir William Scott of Ardross, and had by her . . .

Sir James Murray, knighted by Charles 1., m. 1st, Anne, dau. of Sir
Lewis Craig of Riocartoun, and, dying before his father, left . . .

Sir John Murray (successor to his grandfather) . . . m. 1st, Anne,

4 JAMES MUKEAT, LOYALIST

Archibald of Moravia, mentioned in the chartulary
of Newbottle (1280), and presumably of the Morays,
Lords of Bothwell. He, by a marriage with a
daughter of Sir David Olifard, came into consider-
able possessions in the County of Selkirk. In 1296
he swore fealty to Edward I., but he lived to see
Eobert Bruce king of Scotland. Archibald's son,
Roger, obtained, in 1321, from James Lord Doug-
las, superior of his lands, a charter, " Terrarum de
Fala." He resided at Falahill, and for many years
that estate furnished their chief title to his descend-
ants. Among these, coming down to the beginning
of the sixteenth century, was John Murray of Fala-
hill.

dan. of Sir Archibald Douglas of Cavers, . . . and had six sons
and four daughters : 1. James (Sir) his heir ; II. John, of Bowhill,
one of the Senators of the College of Justice ; III. William, a
colonel in the army ; I. Anne, m. 1st, Alexander Pringle of White-
bank, and 2ndly, Robert Rutherford of Bowland ; II. Janet ; III.
Kachel ; IV. Elizabeth. Sir John Murray m. 2ndly, Margaret,
dau. of Sir John Scott of Scotstarvit, and had by her an only
daughter, Jean, who d. young. He d. 1676.
With John Murray of Bowhill, second son of the above Sir John
Murray, begins the cadet branch of the family, leading to James
Murray, Loyalist. The descent is as follows : —
John Murray of Bowhill.

John Murray of Unthank.

_J

James, Dr. John Barbara. Elizabeth. William.

" Loyalist." of Norwich.
The statement that John of Unthank was a son of John of Bow-
hill is in accordance with family tradition. It " is so stated," says
Mr. Bronson Murray, "in the tree made for my father (in 1842 ?)
by a member of the English family.''

The genealogical table in the appendix, prepared by Mr. Archibald
M. Howe, contains additional information.

ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER 5

It is this John Murray of Falahill who especially
challenges attention as "The Outlaw." His is a
figure which looms up vague but heroic in the back-
ground of border history, and attains to immortahty
in the ballad known as " The Sang of the Outlaw
Murray." Whether he is a definite Murray of the
time of James IV., or several Murrays merged in
one half-legendary being, is little to the purpose.
In history he may or may not have done all the
deeds attributed to him ; in minstrelsy he was a
man of gigantic stature, who " laid the country
lee " with his great club, maintained a proud state
in the isolation of the forest, scorning both court
and king, and defied the messengers of James when
they claimed the forest lands as possessions of the
crown, but yielded fealty at last, upon condition of
obtaining from the king the sheriffship of the lands
in Ettrick Forest.* With the dwellers along Tweed
or Yarrow, poetry-loving folk whose border ballads

^ The lands of Ettrick Forest were part of the jointure of James's
queen. The High Sheriffship of Ettrick Forest or Selkirkshire was
not lost with the passing of the Outlaw. His grandson, Patrick
Murray of Falahill, who died in 1S80, had the office confirmed to
himself and his heirs. It remained a Murray inheritance until the
time of the Sir John Murray, Knight, of Philiphaugh, who died in
1676. He, it seems, sold the inherited right to the king. Even
after that transaction, however, the office was bestowed on members
of the family, for in October, 1681, " the Council (Privy) found that
Philiphaugh (Sir James Murray, b. 1655) had malversed, and been
remiss in punishing conventicles, and therefore they simply deprived
him of his right of Sheriffship of Selkirk — it not being heritable,
but bought by King Charles from his father — and declared it was
devolved in the King's hands to give it to any other." Craig-Brown,
Hist, of Selkirkshire, vol. ii. p. 345.

6 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

had turned their very rivers to poems and their
fields to history, merely to say Ettrick Forest was
to call out memories of a common nursery-lore and
common ancestry, and among these people the
" Sang of the Outlaw " was an especial favorite.
Professor Child, who gives it a place in his collection
of EngHsh and Scottish ballads, grants it indeed
scant praise. But Sir Walter Scott, who first came
across an incomplete version of it among the papers
of Mrs. Cockburn, and afterwards printed it with
additional stanzas collected from various sources and
inserted by him where he thought they properly
belonged, accords it high merit.

The roll of the Outlaw's lands falls imposingly
from his lips : —

" Fair Philiphangh is mine by right,
And Lewinshope still mine shall be ;
Newark, Foulshiells, and Tinnies baith.
My bow and arrow purchased me.

" And I have native steads to me,
The Newark Lee and Hanginshaw ;
I have mony steads in the forest schaw,
But them by name I dinna knaw."

Philiphaugh, first in the Outlaw's roU, is, as Scott
portrays it, a plain about a mile and a half in length
and a quarter of a mile broad, surrounded on three
sides by hills, while its fourth side borders the Et-
trick River, just opposite the high bank of Selkirk.
The plain is famous as the battle-ground upon

' Scott made Newark Castle the scene where " The Lay of the Last
Minstrel " is recited. Its ruins were just outside the park of Bowhill.
Scott, Poetical Works, Edin., 1833, vol. vi. p. 44.

ON THE SCOTTISH BOEDER 7

■which the Covenanters checked Montrose, marching
to the aid of Charles I. A fatal spot it was for the
fortunes of the English monarch, and one which
is the subject of another ballad in " Scottish Min-
strelsy." Eventually Philiphaugh gave its name to
the more modern seat of' the Murrays and to the
head of the family. Sir John Murray, who sat in
Parliament for the County of Selkirk in 1612, was
the first designated as " of Phihphaugh." James,
oldest son of this Philiphaugh, was knighted by
Charles I., and sacrificed one of his sons in the
service of the king. Sir James died before his
father, and the title and lands of Philiphaugh de-
scended in 1640 to his son, a second Sir John, who
was the father of six sons and five daughters. The
Murrays of Phihphaugh are traced quite down to
modern times by Burke in his " Landed Gentry."
But our interest leaves the main line and Phihp-
haugh with Sir John's second son, John Miu-ray of
BowhUl. This John Murray was the father of John
Murray of Unthank, born in 1677, who in turn was
the father of the James Murray whose letters are
printed here.

John Murray of Unthank is described by his sec-
ond son, Dr. John Murray of Norwich, as " a man
who, by a peculiar fortitude of mind, a steady reso-
lution, an unshaken virtue, an uncommon sagacity
and successful industry, not only surmounted every
difficulty, but endeared his name and raised his
credit in the neighborhood where he lived." At
Unthank he devoted himself to the care of his es-

8 JAMES MUKRAY, LOYALIST

tate and to the education of his sons. Scattered at
longer or shorter distances from Unthank, through-
out the neighboring counties, were a score of Scot-
tish households whose inmates were directly related
to him or connected with him by marriage. Stew-
arts, Grahams, Pringles, Murrays, Bennets, Kerrs,
Scotts, and others had quarreled and married,
thriven and multiphed, until the population had be-
come one vast cousinship, bound together by that
clannish loyalty which, quite apart from pride of
name, is ineradicable in the Scots to the present
day. Chesters,^ an estate on the Teviot, six miles
from Ancrum, had for several generations been pos-
sessed by the Bennets, James Murray's maternal
ancestors. Eobert Bennet, James Murray's great-
grandfather, had been a stanch Covenanter, perse-
cuted for twenty years or more for his Presbyteri-
anism. His history was one long tale of fines and
imprisonments, for no sooner was he at liberty than
he involved himself in fresh difficulties by attending
field conventicles, or by harboring the covenanting
preachers in his house. John Murray of Unthank,
on the other hand, was by inheritance an adherent
of the Established Church.

Born at Unthank, on Sunday, August 9, 1713,
James Murray passed the first fifteen years of his
life after the wholesome manner of Scottish lads,
porridge-fed, bare-legged, — he protested in after

1 Chesters was sold about the close of the eighteenth century by
the three sisters of Kobert Bennet, the last of that name, to the
family of Ogilyie.

JOHN MURRAY OF BOWHILL

ON THE SCOTTISH BOEDER 9

years against his grandson's wearing stockings, —
and straitly bred in hardihood and industry. He
idolized his father and took eagerly his instruction,
which was apparently all the book learning the boy
had. It included French and something of EngUsh
literature, sufficient Latin to furnish occasional re-
freshment and solace throughout the rest of his life,
and enough of mathematics to enable him to begin
a mercantile apprenticeship in London when thrown
out upon the world. With his mother's people at
Chesters, including his cousins Anne, Jean, Andrew,
Robert, and Barbara, he was intimate. A kindly
intercourse, also, was kept up between him and
the Philiphaugh cousins at Hangingshaw, of whom,
from one or two allusions in the letters, it appears
that his favorite was Mary, afterward married to Sir
Alexander Don of Newton. In February, 1728,
when the father was fifty-one years of age and the
son fifteen, John Murray died, leaving his widow
and four younger children, Barbara, John, William,
and Elizabeth, to the care of James. The httle
family remained at Unthank for four years more,
James supplying as well as he could the place of his
father, until, in 1732, the lease of the farm, as weU
as the personal property connected with the estate,
were taken ofE their hands by Robert Elliott and
Walter Scott.^ Even then, Mrs. Murray and the
children remained at Unthank, but James, who was
by this time nineteen years of age, left them to be

1 Sir Walter's uncle, James Murray's cousin. His father and
James Murray's father married Bennet sisters.

10 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

fitted for business. Through the influence of Sir
John Murray of Phihphaugh, who, acting with An-
drew Bennet, was one of Mrs. Murray's advisers,
he was apprenticed to WiUiam Dunbar, a merchant
of London, in the West India trade. In London
the lad was an inmate of Mr. Dunbar's family, and
for eighteen months after the apprenticeship was
over he remained with him. Of his earlier experi-
ences in business he wrote to his uncle. Sir John
Murray of PhUiphaugh : —

(London, May 25, 1732.) " There is a ship just
come from Antigua of which my Master is husband,
and he has given me so much to manage it and to
show me the method."

(Dec. 12, 1732.) "I have shipt by my mas-
ter's direction a parceU of coarse Dutch linnens
consigned to his correspondend' in Antigua, the
amount whereof will be about ^£100."

And to his uncle, Andrew Bennet of Chesters : —

(Oct. 6, 1732.) "I send by the Unity, John
Finlason for Leith, ... a Hamper containing two
dozen of rum, one dozen of which (being part of
my first fruits in trade) must beg your acceptance
of, and please send half a dozen to my mother &
the other half dozen you may either present to
Baillie Jeardon on Johnny's acct or some little thing
instead of it & keep it. They call it good here &
say it only wants age."

Although separated from his mother and his bro-
thers and sisters, their affairs continued to receive
his anxious care.

JOHN MURRAY OF PHILIPHAUGH

ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER H

JAMES MURRAY TO ANDREW BENNET.

London, Aug" 5th, 1732.

Since my last of the 4''' ult° I have had no occa-
sion to write you, and this serves to acquaint you
that I continue in health to like my business, etc.

I am very glad to find by a letter from my Mo-
ther that she enjoys health & is pleased with her
new way. I hope your advise and the children's
benefit will induce her to a town life next year ;
but, be that as it will, the children must be qualified
for business, since it is by it that the lads in partic-
ular must earn their bread, & you are very sensible
that they had much better bestow what they have
upon the knowledge of some handsome Employment
than have the one and want the other. But both
is best, and I shall do my outmost to preserve them
their patrimoney intire to begin the world with.
Therefore I thought it not amiss to write you the
following proposal viz.

To continue Johny at school since he likes his
book & is endowed with a tolerable good genius, I
am advised by very sufficient Judge ; that when he
has been two or three more years at School, if he
Inclines (& his friends think proper), to bind him
to a Surgeon apothecary in Edinb'' for five years,
& when he has had further practice either in the
hospitals here or abroad he has a very good chance
of handsome bread almost anywhere in a genteel
way, and it does not require a stock to begin with.
But his own Avent cannot defray this charge. Nei-
ther do I suppose my Mother can easily afford him

12 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

SO much. Therefore I propose to supply what his
own Avent comes short of keeping him at school
and during his apprenticeship, for which I hope my
Mother will not think unreasonable to give her
Obligation to pay me whatever I lay out upon that
accot at her death, or else to defray the Charges of
their Education and take my Obligation at my death.
This proposal may perhaps look out of the way, but
sure I am it is made with no other Intent but as
the best and most equal way of serving the children
without prejudicing my Mother and with as little
harm to myself as in duty to them I can contrive,
and at the same time as much as my circumstances
can well admit of ; for God only knows how matters
may turn. . . .

I have got other 7 new ruffled shirts cost £4: &
a suit of clothes for Sundays cost £5, 10. The
former I have paid myself, the later my Master will
advance for me, and since I have a little money for
my pocket you need not remit me any until further
advice.

That article of cloaths will make me go beyond
my bounds this year, having all to provide and
obliged to go genteel. As for my pocket money, it
is but a trifle, for I keep little or no company, hav-
ing enough of business to divert me and no more.

To his sister Barbara, then just at the tempestuous
and headstrong age of sixteen, he wrote gentle bro-
therly letters, having indeed more sympathy than
blame for her not unnatural difficulties of tempera-
ment and temper.

ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER 13

JAMES MUKEAT TO BAKBARA MUERAT.

LOND" Octo' the 1st, 1733.

D° Sister Babib, — This comes with a set of
Spectators than which I coiild not think of anything
more useful as well as diverting for you, altho be-
fore you are perfectly acquaint with them you may
think otherwise.

I earnestly recommend them to your reading and
acceptance from your Lo Bro.

JAMES MURRAY TO BARBARA MURRAY.

London 18th Oct', 1734.

D" SiSTEK, — With my last to you about this
time 12 month I sent you a Sett of Spectators, and
with this you have a silver thimble, which tho' a trifle
in comparison with the other you must not slight, as
the tender of afEection is the same in both, for I do
assure you I am and always shall be very anxious
about your welfare, & I think you are to blame for
not writing me ever since I have been here. How
you have been & how you [are] employed.

If you cannot write yourself, you might have got
somebody to write for you, tho' I would rather
have it of your own if it was the worse. Whatever
you do let me advise you to do it with humility, &
be ready to take advice of others, especially those
of more experience than yourself, for following one's
own will against reason, or in other words a perverse
obstinacy, generally ends in confusion. Be not fond
of appearing in finer cloaths than your fortune will
allow, but what are suitable to your station wear

14 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

neat and clean. Above all the love of God &
religion without bigotry, and obliging behavior to
the world in general, & to our Parents, and other
relations & Masters in Part are to be required as
carrying with them present as well as future hap-
piness. ... I am with sincerity

Your very affec Bro"'.

" Let me know," he wrote in April, 1733, to his
uncle, Chesters, " whether my Mother stays in Un-
thank or not. I am afraid (for aU her seeming
pleased in her letters to me) that she has but very
indifferent accommodation there. I wish, if it is so
she could be better put up altho at more charge.
I would be very willing to contribute to that and
forwarding the children's education aU I can rather
than she should undergo any hardships, or they be
lost, when it is in my power to help it, for I am
resolved as it is my duty (so far as I am able) to
serve her as long as she lives ; and them till they
are in a capacity of Serving themselves, and then if
they are not willing let them see to it."
And again in the following month : —
" If my Mother would be persuaded to go to a
town where the children might be educated, I think
she and they might live pretty easily upon the whole.
. . . And if what I have said is not encouragement
to go to a town, and what she has met with not
encouragement enough to leave Unthank, I do not
know what to say next. It galls me mightily to
think that she should have been in a manner driven

ON THE SCOTTISH BOEDER 15

to sucli methods as otherwise she would have hated
by being abused even in that place where not long
ago she had everything at command. ... I think it
will come better from you in my behalf if you will
be so kind as to mention it to her in your own way.
... I incline to say as little and do as much to
serve her, &c., as I can, but I make an exception to
tliis last rule with you, since it is necessary you
should know my mind about it, which I cannot well
tell you in fewer words."

Very shrewdly, finding that other means of effect-
ing the removal failed, James next appealed to the
parson. His letter to the Rev. Robert Malcolm is
noticeable for the frank and Catholic spirit which
it displays : respect is paid to the dissenting pastor,
but his own stand as a member of the established
church is firmly maintained. He says : —

" As we have been often the better for your
advice I make bold once more to be troublesome
to you. You cannot but know that our quitting
the farm has made it very inconvenient for my
Mother to live in Unthank . . . She has been
often desired to go to a town. ... I know your
advice will have a good deal of influence with her,
therefore beg your endeavors when you go that
way. I have sent you a book by the Kendal Car-
rier ... of which I beg your acceptance. It con-
tains 16 sermons by Foster, one of the foremost of
our non-subscribing Dissenters. I believe on the
whole it will please you, tho in some things not
agreeable to our estabUshed opinions."

16 JAMES MUREAY, LOYALIST

Thus urged on all sides, Mrs. Murray removed in
July, 1734, to Hawick, not far from Untliank, where
she remained until she died.

The share of his father's estate inherited by
James amounted to one thousand pounds. Portions
of this small pati-imony, as has been seen, he was
allowed to use in modest ventures of his own to
Antigua and elsewhere ; but they did not meet with
any very notable success, and the young man deter-
mined to try his fortunes in the New "World. Grave
and discreet beyond his years, already he had in
several instances undertaken to be responsible for
the welfare of others. Sons of Mr. Rutherford and
of Mr. Jordan, as well as of his uncle Bennet, had
been sent to London to be under his care, and had
been placed by him in situations, and faithf uUy be-
friended. It was scarcely to be wondered at, there-
fore, that his new plans included provisions for a
number of other people. Two sons of Mr. Ellison
were to go with him, not to mention ten or twelve
mechanics, engaged for five or seven years, and a
Scotch domestic, and he even went so far as to
undertake the charge of his sister Barbara, only
eighteen years of age,^ and of his cousin, Jean Kerr.

The objective point for these young adventurers
was the Cape Fear region in North Carolina. The
Carolinas, having shaken off the proprietary rule,
were now entering, it was hoped, upon a more pros-
perous period as dependencies of the crown. Of
the northern colony, after the quarrelsome rule
1 James himself in 1735 was only twenty-two.

ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER 17

of Burlington, Gabriel Johnston had recently been
appointed governor. Johnston was a Scotchman,
who had been a physician and a professor at St.
Andrews University, and who afterwards in London
had mingled more or less in politics. Spencer
Compton, Baron of Wilmington, had been influ-
ential in securing his nomination. North Carolina
afPairs were thus making some stir in Scottish
circles, a fact which directed James Murray's de-
sires to this particular colony. To Governor John-
ston he had secured letters of recommendation.
His friends, Mr. Tullideph, referred to in the next
communication to his uncle, and Mr. Ellison, con-
templated taking up lands in the Cape Fear region,
and had commissioned him to select them. On his
own account he was prepared to make similar invest-
ments, from which he sanguinely anticipated speedy
and large returns ; while with an eye to the immedi-
ate future he laid in a stock of merchandise.

His enumeration of his reasons for venturing upon
this untried course carries with it a conviction of his
firmness of purpose, and its confident tone must
have beguiled the Laird of Chesters into equally
hopeful assent.

JAMES MTJEBAT TO AJSTDREW BENNET.

London 13 May 1735.

. . . The small encouragement that I have to

stay here and not so much as the prospect of doing

better has determined me to accept of the first good

opportunity to push my fortune in any other part of

18 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

the world ; which I told a particular friend of mine
here. . . . He has since had Letters from the Gov-
ernor of North Carolina (with whom he is very inti-
mate) acquainting him of the growing State of that
province and of his intention to remove his court to
part of it where there is a fine navigable river lying
in a convenient place for trade call'd Cape Fare
Kiver. There I intend to go some time in August
next. I am not able in the compass of a letter to
give you all the reasons for such a choice, but for
your satisfaction shall give you a few of the most
material.

1. It is a climate as healthy as England.

2. It is cheaper living there than anywhere in
Scotland.

3. Land which may now be bought there for 1'
or 18^' acre wiU in all probability double the value
every year, the place growing daily more populous
as the Land Lower down in that River has already
done. This determines me to go so soon as August,
that I may be there and purchase about one thou-
sand acres before it is known that the Governor
intends to remove thither.

4. I am sure of the Governor's interest to support
me.

5. My own fortune is sufficient both to buy a
handsome plantation and carry on as large a trade
as I have occasion for ; the profits of which I may
expect will at least defray the charges of settling me
the first two years and afterwards lay up £200 ster-
ling pr. An.

ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER 19

6. The place by its situation is entirely out of the
power of a foreign enemy, which is no small advan-
tage in these uncertain times.

7. I have the advantage of two faithful corre-
spondents, Gent" of Substance and Experience, one
in England ^ and another in the West Indies,^ who
are willing to join Interests with me so far as our
httle trade requires it. . . . All the merchants that I
have talked to that have any knowledge of these
parts say it is the best thing that I can do ; but,
truly. My good friend and Master, who knows little
or nothing of the plan, from an excess of Zeal, either
for my interest or his own or perhaps both, is vastly
out of humour about it and says it is a surprise
upon him what he did not expect, as I seemed satis-
fied with the offers he made me before I went to
Scotland, tho' I said not a word to them either pro
or con, I thought them so small, — not that I had
any intention to leave him.

Through the summer his preparations were made
and his farewells taken. On September 20, 1735,
with his goods and his charges, he embarked at
Gravesend in the ship Catherine, Captain Fay, for
the port of Charleston.

1 Mr. EUison. = Mr. TulMeph.

CHAPTER II

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA
1735-1763

On November 27, 1735, James Murray and his
little company, after a good voyage of nine weeks
and four days, landed safely in Charleston. " From
hence," he wrote two days later to his cousin, John
Murray, the son and afterwards the successor of Sir
John of Philiphaugh, " I shall in about ten days
proceed to Cape Fear." " If I may judge from ye
short trial I have had of this country," he adds, " I
think it is a very agreeable one, particularly at this
season, and ye people seem very friendly among
themselves and kind to strangers."

His reception "by Mr. Grimke and others" in
Charleston was cordial. Indeed, the Charleston
men, in their efforts to detain him in South Carolina,
did not stop at mere cordiality. They united in
abusing the Cape Fear country. Some of the new-
comers were dissuaded by their bad accounts from
journeying further. " The Dutch people that came
over with us," runs one of Mr. Murray's letters,
" stayed in South Carolina, being deterred from pro-
ceeding by misrepresentations. . . . From this you
may see ye risk of losing people that are sent that

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 21

way. I was almost in doubt myself . . . from the
strange stories they told me."

With the last day of the old year, however, he was
off for the land of doubtful promise, and in due time
reached, not, indeed, his final destination, which was
New Town, alias " New Liverpool " and afterwards
Wilmington, but its rival, Brunswick. The old
proprietary divisions of North Carolina were fast
disappearing. At this date the province was divided
into two counties, Albemarle and Bath, which in
turn were subdivided into precincts. From the
precincts were sent the popular representatives, who
formed the Assembly's Lower House, a body usually
at sword's points with the governor, whoever he
might be, and supported or opposed, as the wind
shifted, by the Upper House, or Council, as weU as by
the principal officeholders, namely, the surveyor-gen-
eral, the receiver-general and attorney-general, and
the secretary of the province. In the precinct of
New Hanover in Bath were these two small settle-
ments of New Town and Brunswick, both on the
Cape Fear River and both struggling for supremacy.
Brunswick had been commended to the former gov-
ernor as a settlement deserving advancement, but
Johnston, who paid as little heed to the wishes of
popular factions as did his predecessors, favored
New Town.

In Brunswick were the Moores, Maurice, George,
and Roger, grandsons of Sir John Yeamans. To
the Cape Fear lands, which their grandfather had
"first settled and afterward abandoned," the brothers

22 JAMES MUKEAY, LOYALIST

had come from South Carolina, and by long residence
and many services had acquired leadership in the
Httle community. Maurice Moore had won fame in
the Indian wars of the past. He had also gained
popularity in the never-ceasing strife between the
people and the governors. It was he who, with
Edward Moseley, had gone in 1718 to Edenton, and
taken forcible possession of all the papers in the
office of the secretary of the province, a high-handed
measure which, in spite of his consequent arrest
and fine, in no wise lowered him in public esteem,
for the people had had need of men of this kind, to
hold overbearing officials in check. Moseley, on his
part, was for years before and after this episode
Speaker of the Lower House.

James Murray, entering provincial hfe as a thor-
ough-going conservative and friend of Johnston,
could scarcely be expected to fall into easy relations
with the governor's natural enemies. Almost at the
outset he clashed with the Moores. From Roger he
rented a vacant house, and in it took up his first
abode, displaying to the Brunswick folk his London
wares, and feeling that he had gained a foothold on
the new soil. But his pohtical tendencies and affili-
ations put a too great strain upon the relations of
landlord and tenant, and within a year Roger gave
him notice to " turn out."

The stock, meanwhile, sold at a good advance,
with the exception of a supply of wigs, which met
with no market. The utter lack of civiKzation indi-
cated by the small demand for this commodity struck

A PIONEEK PLANTEK IN NORTH CAROLINA 23

painfully a youth accustomed to the niceties of
Scottish gentility. He excused it to his friends on
the valid ground that since there was no court here
there was no occasion for ceremonious dressing.
Even after sixteen years had passed he wrote to his
London wigmaker : " We deal so much in caps in
this country that we are almost as careless of the
furniture of the outside as of the inside of our
heads. I have had but one wig since the last I had
of you, and yours has outworn et. Now I am near
out, you may make me another good grisel Bob." ^

Indeed, the unkempt population with its rough
and ready ways disappointed and disgusted him
from many points of view. The country itself, he
declared, was well enough, but of the people of North
CaroUna he had not much more good to report than
had others of their critics in the early days. Their
faults revolted him, their virtues he was not pre-
pared to understand. Bona terra, mala gens was
at that time his verdict.

With Governor Johnston, on the other hand, he
was in accord. His letters to the Governor had
procured him an invitation to Eden House, the man-
sion on Salmon Creek, across the bay from Eden-
ton, inherited by Penelope Johnston, the Governor's
wife, from her father, Governor Eden. This visit
established cordial relations, and resulted in his
being asked to join the Governor in an exploring
expedition up the Cape Fear. As he had been com-
missioned to select lands for Mr. TuUideph and Mr.

1 Letter to Wm. Guyther, March 20, 1752.

24 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Ellison in this region, the invitation was oppor-
tune.

The young man's care of Mr. Ellison's sons is
only one illustration out of many of the willingness
with which he undertook the charge of those who
had any claim on his good offices. In this case his
pains came to naught, for William died in North
Carolina not many years after his arrival, and An-
drew returned to England.

JAMES MTTEKAY TO WILLIAM ELLISON

Brunswick, 14'" Feb", 1735/6.
Dear Sir — ... We sail'd from Charles town
the last day of Dec", & came over the bar of Cape
Fear the 2"^ day of Jan''^ & camp'd ashore all night
by a good fire in y° woods. Next day we got up to
this town. I intended to have gone up to New town,
Ahas New Liverpool, but was told there was no
house there to be had except I built one ; so was
oblig'd to bring all ashore here, where I have got a
good convenient house ^ on rent, which I shall keep
until I can purchase a few slaves & a plantation in
the country where I can have all kind of provisions
of my own raising. Here I am oblig'd to pay no
less than 17 to 20/ P bushel, this money, for corn, &
10, 12 & 14'^ P lb. for meat. I am told this place is
every bit as healthy as New town. There is a great
emulation between the two towns, but I intend to
concern my self with neither, but throw my self easily
out of trade into y* plantation.
^ Roger Moore's.

A PIONEEE PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 25

As to your son William I have the pleasure of
giving you a just & good Acco' of his behavior,
which has been very discreet & sober ever since
he left you. While at Charlestown he lodg'd &
boarded in y" same house with us, & as soon as my
house here was fitt'd up he stay'd with me tiU we
went up to y* Gov™, & there I left him to come down
to court with his Excellency nest week. The only
fault that I & every body else has to him is, that he
has not pick't up a common (much less a lawyer's)
assurance, yet, the want of which I tell him wUl be
a vast loss to him. . . .

I have supply' d William with what money he
want'd & shall continue so to do as he has occasion
for it ; but if you send him a fresh supply, it must
be in some thing else than wigs, for I have not been
able to sell one of them, tho' I open'd them both in
Charles town & here.

When I was at Brompton I took an opportunity
to mention your land to y^ Gov'. He said you should
have it, but added this question, " what could you
do with it ? " For he did not beUeve your son un-
derstood how to manage it. I answered that tho'
he did not I had another of your sons who would
probably learn something of husbandry before his
time was out with me, & for him it would be a good
beginning, tho' you had not determin'd [on] whom
to settle it. As I go up y* North east with j" Gov",
shall see your land & M' TulHdeph's laid out in y^
best place I can. I have not yet determin'd whether
to take any for my self. SterHng are not nor will

26 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

for some time be easy to discharge by people that
have their effects here. Land is easier to be pur-
chas'd here for Currency than bills on England. . . .

You are mistaken. We are not depriv'd of the
advantages of y° gospell preach' d, for we have y° best
minister that I have heard in America to preach &
read prayers to us every 2^ or 3'* Sunday at least, &
in a cold day a good fire in j" church ^ to sit by. In
these & many other respects this town is preferable
to New town, & yet I believe the last wiU be first in
a Httle time. We have had a great deal of snow &
cold weather since we came here.

I shall deliver William his indentures, & put him
in mind to look out for his 50 acres. If he can find
land, he may have 10 times that quantity ; if not, he
will get none that is worth whUe, nor no body else,
for people that are aquaint with y" country only
know where y" vacant land is, so they get a warrant
survey & patents & then screw as much as they can
from a stranger for it, who in his turn serves others
the same way.

' As to church servioes, it may be said that ever since the Bishop
of Loudon had, in 1725, extended his jurisdiction to the American
colonies, churches or chapels had been established in the different
counties ; but to get and keep a reputable minister had been, as late
as 1731, a difficult matter. In that year Governor Burrington wrote,
in his address to the Duke of Newcastle, " This country has no
orthodox minister legally settled ; those that formerly have been here
generally proved so very bad that they gave people offence by their
vicious lives."

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 27

JAMES MUEEAT TO DAVID TULLIDEPH.

Brunswick, 31 March, 1636.
Dear Sir, — Since my last of y° 21 Ult" have been
up y' North East branch of this river about 180
miles from y° mouth of it. We found a little diffi-
culty in getting up & down, with our Canoes which
were deep loaded, by reason of logs lying across ;
but where y" river was clear we had 6 foot water as
far as we went & an easy current. There is not
such a Quantity of land in any part of this country
yet discov'd so good as y* that lyes on the head of
y" North East & black river, whose branches enter-
lock one another, which is y® centre of y" province,
& in aU probability wiU far exceed any part of it
were there but industrious people enough to inhabit
it. But notwithstanding aU I have said & a great
deal more I could say in praise of it y* Gov"" thinks
it will not be for your interest to take up any land
here unless you come to live on it yourself, & indeed
I am of y^ same opinion, for I observe this country
even exceeds all ever I heard of y" West Indies for
bad Attorneys & overseers. If it was in my way
to overlook your plantation, you might expect to be
better serv'd ; but I do not intend to take up any
land within 100 miles of it for some time, tiU I see
how it is like to be inhabit'd & improv'd, & I am
afraid you will get none to live in such an out of
y" way place as it will be for some time that will be
strictly honest to you, & you are oblig'd to clear
about 60 acres of your 2000 within 3 years after
you are possess'd of it or else your right lapses. . . .

28 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

The burden laid upon trade by the inflated cur-
rency and by the almost prohibitive restrictions im-
posed by Virginia and other colonies hastened Mr.
Murray in his purchase of land. On a plantation
he could at least raise food, which was scarce and
high, and becoming more so through an increase in
the number of mouths to be fed ; for within a year
of his arrival came the advance guard of a great
influx of Irish and Swiss Protestants. These emi-
grants, seeking homes in North Carolina, were many
of them sent or brought over by Murray's friend
and correspondent, Henry McCuUoh, a Scotchman
who later came to Cape Fear as "His Majesty's
Surveyor, Inspector and ControUer of the Eevenue
and Grants of Land." ^

JAMES MXTREAT TO DAVID TULLIDEPH.

Newton, Jan'^ 10*', 1736/7.

... I can write you nothing Entertaining from

this, but from the number of the Irish and Swiss

that are soon expected here some of us imagine the

prosperity of the country and happiness of its in-

1 Williamson says, in his History of North Carolina, that McCulloh
" speculated largely in crown lands with a view of paying for them
by importing settlers," and that his 'son, Henry Eustace McCulloh,
" reported between three and four hundred persons thus brought into
the Provinces."

In the Life and Letters of James Iredell, McCulloh is described as
having been " cherished by his friends with affection and regard."
The same book says, further, that he impaired his large fortune by
furnishing means to his immigrants, but that his son, who was appar-
ently a man of a very difierent stamp, succeeded in making good his
claim to about sixty-four thousand acres of land. Henry McCulloh
was an uncle of James Iredell.

A PIONEER PLANTER EST NORTH CAROLINA 29

habitants in general to be at hand. Others are in
dread and confusion, fearing an end will be put to
their Lording it over the King's heritage.^

When I first came in ^ I rented a house of Rosfer
Moore's, to whom my behaviour and intimacy with
some gentleman was so disagreeable that he told me
to turn out before I had been 3/4 of a year in the
house. Then I bought a house and lot in this town
where I now Hve, and immediately after purchased
a plantation within fifteen miles of about 500 acres.
The one cost me £1000 and the other 500£, this
Currency. With both I am very well satisfied, and
since I cannot make remittances to carry on trade
I intend to turn planter as soon as possible.

Through Mr. McCuUoh Mr. Murray set in motion
an application for the position of collector of the
port, an appointment which in 1739 he received.
As a matter of course, since the time was the reign
of George II., when bribery in matters of this sort
had not yet fallen into disrepute, he expected to
pay a reasonable amount for the appointment. The
reasonable amount, £200 in the following letter,
shrinks to one half that sum in the next, in view of
" ye precariousness of ye post and ye uncertainty of
people's lives in this country." ^ Commenting upon

1 This is an allusion, of course, to the Moores.

^ To the Cape Fear region.

^ " . . . Many have I seen since I have been here, hearty & Gay &
Brisk one week & the next attended to the grave. This is a dismal
climate & when one gets sickly here I have hardly ever known an
instance of his recovering." Macdowell, in Colonial Records of
North Carolina, vol. vi. p. 977.

30 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

this application, he wrote on the same day to Mr.
Ellison : " You '11 hear from Mr. McCulloh of a
chimerical scheme of mine in behalf of your son
and myself. I call it chimerical because it is putting
in for a hving man's post who must first be dead,
and it is a court preferment, which implys more un-
certainty than the other."

JAMES MUEEAT TO HENRY MCCULLOH.

Brunswick, May 3, 1736.

Since my last of y" 24th Feb^ I Have not had an
opportunity of writing you, for just before I came
down from y" North East Cap' Keit sail'd. I then
promis'd you an Acco* of our expedition, but must
defer it till I have time to write our Journal out
fair, which will send you by a vessel that will sad
hence in a little time. Y' people here have got y"
South Carolina notion that they are not obhg'd to
pay residing merchants for their goods in less than
a twelve month, so that I shall hardly be able to
remitt any thing this year. Indeed it will not be
much to my loss, for their only staple commodities,
Viz. pitch, tar & turpentine are as dear here as I
imagine they will be cheap at home ; & if I delay
till next crop I may come in for a little rice, of which
there is only 500 barrels made on this river this
year, & next crop we expect 1500 or 2000 barrels.
I was up at Brompton last week, where I saw y*
Gov' & Cap' Woodard in good health. Y° last has
had a gentle fit of y® gout since he came from y"
north East, but that expedition was of service to his

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 31

Excellency's health, & Cap* Innes/ & I grew fat
upon it. My business at Brompton was to advise
about y® employment of M' Tullideph's negroes,
which he intends to send in very soon, for whom
have come to a resolution (if my instructions will
permitt) to get a plantation within y° settlement
there, to employ them untill y° rich land is settled
by some familys from Ireland. Now I have men-
tion'd the Irish I cannot help giving you an in-
stance how much some gentlemen here endeavour to
defeat all y® Gov" Designs for settUng y° country.
Roger Moore I am told has wrote to M"^ Dobbs that
it will not be his interest to concern himself in land
here or something to y' purpose. His view in which
is that if y® Irish came over here they will be a
weight against him in y® Assembly & will by Culti-
vating y^ land confirm M"" Dobbs right to what he
would be content to take y" advantage of a lapse of,
in case a new Gov"^ should be appoint'd, which all y°
blank patent gentry are in great hopes of. M' Soli-
vol has been lately appointed Collector & searcher
of this port, who is just a dying of a dropsy. If
that could be got either for Mr. ElUson or me, or
both, one to be principal & y° other deputy, you
would do us a particular piece of service. There is
£Q5 ?"■ Ann Sterling SaUery beside fees here, which
may amount to near 100 P' Ann in all. What
money you may have occasion to apply in presents,
not exceeding £200, shall be faithfully paid you as
soon as possible, & if y" Comission is in my name

1 James Innes, afterwards Colonel Innes.

32 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

your security shall be reliev'd by gentlemen of sub-
stance either here or in Scotland, & if M' Ellison
will go half y° charges and use his interest to obtain
it I obhge my self to make his son Wilham Deputy
& give him half y" fees & half y° sterling sallery. I
do not expect I have any friends but you two in
town at y" season this will reach you to apply to. . . .

The " blank patent gentry," alluded to in the
preceding letter, are, again, the Moores and their
friends. The term probably arose during the alter-
cation between Johnston and the holders of certain
grants of land made by former governors. During
the Proprietary rule patents for North Carolina
lands were kept on hand in the secretary's office
ready for use. These patents were made out in due
form, but with the grantees' names, the number of
acres, the description of the lands, and the sums to
be paid left blank, to be disposed of and filled up
" just as the Lords Proprietors thought fit." Even
before the Proprietary rule came to an end govern-
ors were forbidden to make any more grants of land,
but several did in fact use the blank patents long
after the land office was closed, and in some in-
stances after the king had taken the province into
his own hands. Governor Johnston early came into
conflict with those who held land under these pat-
ents, the invalidity of which he dwelt upon with
insistence, and a bitter quarrel ensued.^

Mr. Murray's letters naturally present the Gov-

1 See Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. iv. p. v.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 33

ernor's side in these disputes, wliich derive their
main interest from the fact that they were early
examples of the long struggle between English
authority and American self-rule.

JAMES MUEEAT TO HENET MCCULLOH.
^ S ■' ^_ Brunswick, Cape Fear. July 8th, 1736.

Since my las^ I have your favour dated y° 12th
March, with a very agreeable postscript which I
should be very glad to see accomplish' d, for if things
in this country are not in a better situation during
Mr Johnstons Governm*, I shall almost despair of it.

By a vessel which will sail directly to your port,
in about 3 weeks, I intend to send you a cask of
skins which is all y" remittance I have got out of
£4800 Currency, value of goods sold since my
arrival, I do not reckon Cash, of which I have re-
ceiv'd about £900, a Remittance. I have more
than half my goods yet on hand, which are no pain
to me, as none of them are perishable but some
cloath & stockings which I can easily take care of.
As y° most necessary things sell first, y" remainder
of my cargoe will want an assortment to help it of,
which should have desir'd you to send, according to
y" list annex' d, had I been able to clear old scores
with you. Instead of that I have laid a new demand
on you, in y" affair of y* Collector. If you have
not, before this reaches you, made some advances in
that affair, I desire you would not expend above one
hundred pounds about it. That, on second thoughts,
I think is enough, considering y* precariousness of

34 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

y'-post & y* uncertainty of people's lives in this
country. If you do succeed in that affair at a con-
siderable expence, & if my bill on M' Dunbar is not
honour'd, I desire you will not send y^ goods men-
tion'd. If otherwise, I leave it to you, to send them
or not as you find convenient. I intend as soon as
I can secure enough of Such tar & Turpentine to
send for a vessel from New England ^ and load her
to send home to you.

Newton, Nov. 6, 1736.
. . . Last week I was up the North East to the
lower part of your land setting the Carpenter to work
to finish two houses there (I mean at Camp Innes)
for the reception of the Swiss Mess" Hutchinson &
Grimkie have sent in.^ They were here about 3
days, during which time his Excell^ our good Gov*
took a great deal of pains to provide for them & to
assure them they should have every thing to their
satisfaction till they were settled. With which they
went up last Tuesday very well pleased. . . . Since
I last wrote you have bought a house & lot in
this town & a plantation in the country about 15
miles from this, joining on Cap* Eowan, 200 acres
of the 500 land as good as his that he values at 20/
Ste' P acre. The other 300 acres are fit for build-

1 This illustrates the backwardness of North Carolina in possessing
means of transportation.

^ " There are now forty Swiss people," Mr. Murray wrote in this
month to Andrew Bennet, " the beginning of six thousand contracted
for from that country, which, with a great number of Irish expected
next year, will raise our country in a hurry."

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 35

ing on & for corn & pasture. It cost me about
£30 Ste"", as I sold my goods, but wben I shall turn
planter God knows. It will not be till I can turn
some Money out of the country to buy some negroes.
But first I ought to be even in your books, for if
trade is not grown much worse at home I am sensi-
ble you must be a looser by mine & every other
debt that you get no more than 5 P C by Par. I
wish I could write you something agreable of the
country or rather the present set of inhabitants, for
the place it self is well enough were it peopled by
frugal, honest, industrious people who would not
sacrifice the general good of the province for the
obtaining their own private ends or would not be
so stupid as to be led by the nose by those that
would. Then I might say without the spirit of
prophecy that this Province would soon be one of
the best in America. . . .

Meantime the growth of Newtown had begun.
James Innes, like Mr. Murray, was one of the earli-
est settlers of the town.

JAMES MURRAY TO HENRY MCCULLOH.

Newton, Jan'' 10", 1736/7.
. . . Your Swiss families are very well, but lost
one their men in a fever at Brunswick & another old
man since they went up. I have agreed for Indian
corn at 12/, pease at 20/, & potatoes at 7/6 P
bushell, enough to serve them till next crop. Indian
corn is since risen to 15/ & is like to go to 20/. Kice

36 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

at £4 PI & hardly to be had. The Swiss have been
very uneasy, for their land not being run out by
reason of the only surveyor that could do it his being
gone into the other county where he was detained
by an illness ; but now he is returned, and will settle
their bounds next week.

We are very upish upon Cap' Woodard, M' John-
ston, Cap* Rowan and Cap* Innes each of them pur-
chasing a good lot in this town, which thrives a
pace.

The pioneer's descent, however, from great expec-
tations to the bed-rock of reality was being made
by Mr. Murray even while he noted the country's
growth. He felt strongly the peculiar disadvantages
from which North Carolina suflEered.

JAMES MUKEAT TO JOHN MUREAT.^

Newton, Cape Fear, Jan'' 10'" 1736/7.

M^ John Mubeay

Hon^ Sir, — It is no small comfort to me to find
by yours of the 14*'' June & other letters that I am
not yet forgot by my best friends, tho' in this re-
mote corner of the world, and that they have a just
opinion of my concern for them by giving me an
Acco' of their welfare & other occurrencies, than
which nothing can be more agreable.

I wish I could give you equal satisfaction by my
letters, but alas it is not to be expected from a new
country such as this where you know no body,

^ A son of John Murray of Fhiliphaugb.

A PIONEEB, PLANTEK IN NORTH CAROLINA 37

whence we can write of nothing so well as the incon-
veniencies we suffer in reality for the advantages we
form to our selves in imagination ; and was I to un-
dertake to give you a description of the place, it
would only be darkening instead of enlivening your
Idea of the continent. I shaU therefore confine my
self to answer your questions, what trade have we &
what is my scheme of settlement. ... As the pre-
sent staple commodities are very low in Europe, Eu-
ropean goods are very high here and our payments,
being slow and but in small quantities at a time, will
not defray the charge of a freight from Britain.
We therefore send our peddling to some or other of
the neighbouring colonies, for which we have Euro-
pean or other goods at their price, and the necessity
of our country obliges them to give almost what
advance the importer pleases on the goods he thus
buys at second hand. We have £150,000 of biUs
emitted by the publick, which are current in all pay-
ments, and the King takes them for his quitrents at
the rate of 7 for 1 Ster^, but the merchant has for
his goods from 12 to 20 for 1 Ster^. These bills
are lent out upon good security at 6 PC P. an which
interest with an impost on liquors is allotted to the
sinking of the principal, and so long as this Gov' is
continued he is resolved to observe that act & to
grant no more bills for Currency till the present by
it's scarceness comes to its true value of 7 for 1.
Thereby he and all the king's officers who are paid
their sallaries here at that rate will receive the worth
of them; thereby the merchant who sells his goods

38 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

at the present prices and has his debts outstanding
with 10 pC P. ^" acerewing on them will be a great
gainer. The Merchant has another chance of turn-
ing his cargoe to a good account. He sells his goods
at a high price for the reason above observed. The
country in a year or two is well settled by Irish
and Swiss, who in a year or two more make such
commodities as are valuable at home and enrich
the country here. Now for what I am to do in the
mean time. I have sold about 2/3 of my cargo, for
which we have got a pretty large sum of our Cur-
rency in debts outstanding and in bills received.
Was I to press speedy remittances, it would be very
much to my disadvantage. I have provided my self
with a plantation in the country within Fifteen miles
of the place which in aU probability will be the prin-
cipal town on this river, if not the Metropolis of the
province, that I intend to settle as soon as I can get
Negroes. Then I shall hve very well upon my own
industry and save the interest of my stock. For all
my complaints a man with a moderate fortune & tol-
lerable management may live very happily and plen-
tifully here. I cannot say he has it in his power to
make a great fortune at once.

Barbara Murray married, in less than two years
after coming over, Thomas Clark, a young man
thoroughly liked by her brother and associated with
him in his public and private interests. In the same
summer (1737) Mr. Murray received news of the
death of his mother, which left the younger chil-

A PIONEER PLANTEE IN NOETH CAROLINA 39

dren still more dependent on his care. This ne-
cessitated a journey to Scotland, which he accom-
plished in the ensuing spring. The settling of Mrs.
Murray's estate and other matters detained him for
nearly a year, during which time he was much at
Chesters and renewed his intimacy with his Bennet
cousins, particularly with Barbara. On returning to
America he brought with him his younger brother
and sister, William, sixteen, and Elizabeth, not quite
fourteen, years of age. Elizabeth proved so capable
that she was before long installed as James's house-
keeper, and thus began that affectionate intimacy
between them that was perhaps the most vital and
enduring element in the life of each.

A portion of the small inheritance left to William
and Elizabeth he now invested in negroes.^ For
himself, although the disadvantage of trade had
been strongly impressed upon him, he had been un-
able to resist the temptation of bringing over a cargo
of goods even larger than his former venture, as the
succeeding letter to his brother-in-law relates.

JAMBS MUERAT TO THOMAS OLAEK.

London, 23 Decemb", 1738.

... In my last I told you of my brother & Sis-
ter's intention to go over with me, who are now
here for that purpose. I said also that nothing was
coming to you from my mother's Estate. Have

1 Negroes, since the very earliest days of the country, when slaves
worked under Sir John Yeamans, in the Cape Fear settlement, had
proved the speediest means of gaining wealth.

40 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

notwithstanding got £20 st' for you there, which is
as much as the two younger childring have got.

You '11 be surprised when I tell you that, instead
of my Scheme of retired life, am going to involve
myself in the Cape Fear trade deeper than my self
or any of my predecessors or contemporaries have
done hitherto, & am now fitting out a Cargo of
above £1500 st' to begin with, & have charter'd a
ship to load derectly back with such Commodities
as can be got. If our Gentlemen Planters have a
mind to set their trade on the footing of South Caro-
lina now they '11 have a fair opportunity. If I find
they are not ready & willing to encourage it, espe-
cially in the loading of this ship, I shall set down
my little family with you & go away without break-
ing bulk to South CaroHna or Georgia, for my cargo
is suited for either of these places, & shall come
back with the refuse of my cargo (if any), for which
I shall expect 2 & 3000 P Cent, as other people as
well as I used (& I presume still continue) to sell
for. Let them pay when they will. But I hope
this will not be the case & that every body who
do's not want to enrich themselves by the ruin of
the Planters & Country in General will encourage
so Laudable a design & will be as ready to pay me
their Commodities in merch*able order as I shall be
to sell them goods useful, fresh & reasonable as
they can wish. At all Hazards you may fit up my
store in the same manner as M'' Drys with all pos-
sible dispatch, that is the whole 22 foot by 18 on
the east end of the house to be lined with boards

A PIONEEK PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 41

on the side & plastered on the siling, to be shelved
as far as the door from the east end, & counter from
side to side with a board to fold down in the middle.
I hope the cellar is done under neath, and the sashes
according to the dementions I sent you by Wimble
ready to put in the glass. Let sashes be done for
all the windows in the store, and a door for the
store cellar. I am affraid I have shaped you more
work than you '11 sew till I see you, but you '11 do
all you can. Give notice of my intentions to leave
this the middle of next month with a Vessel and
Cargo bound derectly to you-ward, that those that
owe me as well as those that do not may have then-
goods ready. Great encouragement will be given
to rice & tar chused in full bound barrels, turpen-
tine & pitch as usual. I have bespoke a petty auger
from South Carolina, which at all events cannot miss
to sell if not wanted by me. You need put yo"' self
to no inconveniences about moving from my house
in a hurry, for I shall have none but my brother &
Sister & one, two or three more in my family, for
whom there will be room enough with you for a
while.

I have also sent their money in value to south
Carolina in order to buy negroes for them, most
part of which I design to be under your manage-
ment.

M'' Douglass has taken the same method with his
in order to sit down in a plantation. So, whether
I shall be the better for the Country or not, it is
plain the country will be the better for me, &, I

42 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

hope, so will my friends for being recommended
thither. . . .

Mr. Murray had by this time, aided by absence
and his natural tolerance, come to -wish to be on a
friendlier footing with his Cape Fear neighbors.
He wrote to John Porter ^ from London, Dec. 20,
1738 : —

" I have observed (in you) a justness of thought
and generosity of temper that I would endeavor to
imitate wherever I found it. If some gentlemen of
oiu" acquaintance had with the same good nature
overlooked a zeal (perhaps a httle imprudent) for
one's friends I should have had more friends in
Cape Fear, but as it is, I am sensible there is and
will subsist a Dryness between some certain Gentle-
men and me until the unhappy Differences of the
Province are reconciled."

Early in the summer of 1739 he was again in
North Carohna, having brought with him John
Rutherford, who afterward became receiver-general
of the province.

JAMES MURRAY TO JAMES EUTHERFOED.

Cape Fear, Sep' 4, 1739.

That I may be as Good or Rather as troublesom
as I promised in Writing you once in 3 Months,
take this for my first, which happens to be about
that time Since my Arrival.

After our Departure from England I expected to
' Of Newtown.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 43

See Cousin John Very Sea Sick, but instead of y'.
He was y* only person of all the Cabin Passengers
that was not Sea Sick, & took a most compassionate
Care of us in our Distress. That he might not Be
Idle in his Passage I Set him to . . . [a] Book of
practical Geometry, in which he took Much DeHght
& Made Great Proficience for y° time. Since my
Arrival my head has been so much taken up with
Business that I cannot go on with him ; but when
he is not imployed in y" Store he applies to it him-
self, [so] that with mine or Some other's help next
winter I doubt not of his being able to apply Ma-
thematicks to most of y" Common Occasions for
them in life, particularly Surveying & Gauging, two
usefuU Sorts with us. Dehvering out Goods, Writ-
ing in y* Waste Books & copying Letters is his
CheiE imployment at present. I am now got to
Sep' the 6'h, & pretty well recovered of what I
thought a Severe fit of the Rheumatism, which has
laid me up ever Since I wrote y^ forgoing & makes
me Glad now to walk with Stilts, what I was never
used to before. If you have a Mind to Send any
wearing apperel or linnen, y" most useful Article to
Johny, you may Ship it & Send y° Receipt to M'
Henry Houson Merchant in London, who will for-
ward what you Send. If you chuse to Send any
thing for Sale, Scots plad about 18'* or 20'* p' Ell,
brown Linnen from 3^ to 18'* p' Ell, Coarse & Mid-
ling Diaper, these fit for y^ Summer & Winter.
Galacheils Gray at 6'* or 7** p' Ell to be here in
Sep'' or October for Winter only. What you buy

44 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

by y" Scots Ell, let it be measured by an exact 3
foot allowing a thumb, & y' Measure put on y"
Piece. As I am an Invalid & have other letters to
■write yet, I must not Delay. We are in Hopes this
war will Drive some of y° Southern Settlements to
us. 'T is a Bad wind blows no Body Good.

The Spanish War, alluded to in the last letter,
presented to William an opening for a military
career. North Carolina had raised four companies
for General Oglethorpe's expedition against St. Au-
gustine. That expedition having failed, the North
CaroUna contingent was to be sent to join the Eng-
hsh forces at Jamaica, and with it were to go Cap-
tain James Innes, Mr. Murray's " most intimate
friend next to T. Clark," and also two cousins of
the Murrays, Lieutenant Archibald Douglas and
Lieutenant Pringle. William was, in his brother's
opinion, unfitted for a planter's life. On the other
hand, his inheritance was sufficient to procure him a
commission, and an opportunity was now offered to
enter the army under Captain Innes's special care.
At Jamaica, moreover, he would find his brother
John, graduated from his " studies of pharmacy and
surgery," and appointed surgeon's mate on board
the Tilbury, English man-of-war. So, with all these
advantages on his side, and further fortified by a
letter to John Stuart, Aide-de-camp to Lord Cath-
cart, William set out for the war.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 45

JAMES MUEKAT TO CAPT. JAMES INNES.

Wilmington, 20th Nov;, 1740.

Dr. Sk. . . . My brother John, Surgeon's mate
on board the Tilbury man of War, I have desired to
apply to you, as well for advice as for some money,
if you find it wiU be of service to him, either to pro-
mote him, preserve or Eecover his health, or to supply
him with necessarys and a little pocket money if his
pay is not sufi6.cient. I desire you may inquire how
much of his own Money he has taken up, and how
he has Managed it, that you may the better judge
of his economy. You '11 likewise supply my brother
BiUie with what you think necessary. I leave him
intirely to your care, hoping also that his cousins
the Lieutenants will be kind to him.

It is out of my power to give a Greater instance
of my confidence in and good opinion of you than
I have done by sending him along with you. I do
hereby impower you to engage as far as his (Billy's)
whole fortune which is one hundred pounds Ster-
ling, in buying a commission. Land, or Negroes or
anything Else that you think will be for his Advan-
tage, and He approves of it.

JAMES MUEBAY TO JOHN MURRAY.

To M' John Murray, Surgeon's Mate On board the Tilbury Man
of War, at Jamaica or Elsewhere, P William Murray.

Cape Feak, November 13*h, 1740.

Dear John : ... As this goes with your brother
William, I have the less Occassion to be particular
in anything that relates to us here. I have only to

46 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

desire that in Case he should be sick you will take
all possible Care of him. If you Should have any
emergent occasion for Money either to forward your
promotion or recover your health, I have desired
Cap' Innes to advance you Some. It will require
much of your Care and Attention to chuse Your
Company — Men of Sense, Sobriety and Good Man-
ners — to avoid the Extravagance of many, but not
to be so very frugal as to keep no Company at all.
Cap' Innes, I hope, will take notice of you, and is
very able (as I know by Experience) to give you
good advice. I have some thoughts of Going home
next Spring, but that resolution will take Effect or
not according to the letters I shall receive from
thence. I am

Dear John
your most affectionate Brother

JAMES MURRAY TO MRS. BENNET OF CHESTEES.

Cape Feak, Sept' 1740.
... It would be too tiresome to you to be trou-
bled with a Repetition of the several Particulars in
Your Letter, how much some of them pleased me.
You, who know me and my Affection for my
friends, may easier Imagine than I can Express.
And if others Gave an Account of Accidents and
Ommissions that are not so Agreeable, it is what I
lay my Ace' with to hear in almost every Letter ; for
if the Accidents in human Life are by a wise provi-
dence for good purposes interlarded with bitter and
Sweet, Letters will bring ace' of these Accidents just

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 47

as they turn out. But to retui-n to my letter. In
my last to my uncle I wrote of the Scituation of my
Affairs here and that I was winding up my bottom
as fast I Could, with an Intent to go home next
Spring if some persons with whom my Cheif busi-
ness is wiU take the trouble to advise that it is
proper ; but I have much to Complain of the Lazi-
ness of Some Correspondents.

Your letter to Betty gave great joy. She is now
my only Housekeeper and entered that Station the
beginning of this week just after my return from
the north. You have long ago heard the News of
my Sister Clark having a son. I have only to teU
you that he lately entered the Christian list by the
Name of James. Cap* James Innes and I were his
God-Fathers.

I wrote my Uncle that M"' Douglass was to go
Lieutenant to Cap* Innes. Since that M"^ William
Pringle, Chfton's Son, happened to be one of the
four Lieutenants appointed at home for this Pro-
vince that Came to Edenton while I was there. I
brought him along with me a Journey of 200 Miles
in five days. He is now in My house and is to
be Cap* Innes Eldest Lieutenant. They seem to
think themselves very happy in each other. . . .

[Nov. 26th.] Tempted with the promise of care
from my friends Innes, Pringle and Douglas, I have
sent my brother Will along with them. They are but
just put to Sea with Letters of Marque, and to make
- the best of their Way to Jamaica, Where they expect
to meet the English forces as well as those of Amer-

43 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

ica, all under the Command of My Lord Cathcart.
I have sent about £80 St', value along with them
and Impowered Capt Innes to spare it to John and
William as he should find they stood in need of it.
I likewise Impowered Cap! Innes to draw for WiU's
patrimony if he could lay it out for his advantage.

When the rest of the Gentlemen going hence on
the Expedition were making their Wills Billy also
made his at my request and left all he has to my
sister Betty & when he gave her the paper and told
her what it was the tears run down her Cheeks like
hail. I must not omit to tell what they alledge of
Mr. Douglass at signing his Will. He first signed
a power of Attorney with his usual ease, but when
he came to sign the Will his hand shaked terribly,
So that he was Obliged to take it twice off before
he Could finish his Name ; and when he had done,
he said, " I hope never to live to put that Will in
force for all this." He could hardly stand this
joke. Mr. Pringle by his good natured agreeable
way of DiscipUning the Company and in his Con-
versation and behavior in General gave great Satis-
faction to Cap* Innes, to the soldiers and everybody
else ; and it gave me Sensible pleasure that I was
the Cause of his being allotted to Cap! Innes. . . .
Had I been certain of such good Officers, I would
readily have persuaded BUly to accept of the Gov"
kind offer of a Pr. of CoUours but by the time we
had Determined on it the GovT had filled up all the
Commissions he had. So far we were unlucky. . . .
A ship had lately arrived after a long passage

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 49

from London which brings some Goods for John
Rutherford. . . .

JAMES MURKAT TO ANDREW BENNET.

WrLMiNGTON, Cape Fear, S* September, 1741.

Dear Sik, — I have a long time Denied my
self the pleasure of writing to you having still had
some hopes of hearing from some of my friends at
Chesters by every opportunity. I know not how I
have Deserved it, but I never had such Signs of
being forgotten or out of favour there.^ But
enough of this. Since my friend M^ M°Culloch's
Arrival in this Province with his family he has been
an Inhabitant of my house in this town, which made
it necessary for me to Discard all my own family
but Johny Eutherfurd & a Couple of Negroes.
Betsy therefore Stays with M' Clark, as does Jeany
Ker. The former has now a Uttle of the fever &
Ague. My Sister Clark about 3 weeks ago was
Delivered of another Son ^ and is bravely Recovered.
The Lad promises to be as pretty & thriving a boy
as the other,^ which is saying a great Deal. M""
Clark has been SherifE of this County ever Since
June Last and is to Continue in that Office (worth
about £100 Ster P Ann) for two years. He has also
had the good fortune to be Appointed Collector of
this Port in the Room of Samuel Woodward Dece'd
by M' Dinwiddle, the Surveyor Gen' of this Con-
tinent, but for want of friends & interest with the

1 His cousin Barbara was evidently a poor correspondent.
" Thomas. ^ James.

50 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

Ministry at home Dispairs of holding it Longer
than another is Appointed & sent over by the Lords
of the Treasury. That office is also well worth £100
a Year, attended with little trouble, & Generally
Continues during Life.

I have Letters from Jamaica of the 15*h June
which inform me that Jack & Willy were well, as
also M' Douglass and Cap' Innes, but that M' Prin-
gle was Shott before Bocha Chica on board the
Prince Frederick, Lard Awbery Commo"^, who was
also Killed Next Day. M"^ D. & Will had the good
Luck to be on a Cruise at the time of that unsuc-
cessful Siege and to take Some Valuable prises, from
which M^ D. expects £300 & Will £20 to his
Share ; but no Doubt you have heard particularly
from them. I am tired of Deferring my Voyage
any Longer and am Risolved to Depart from this
with Johny Eutherfurd some time next month. If
it please God to give us a prosperous Voyage, I
may have the Pleasure of Eating my Christmass
Dinner with you.

Since I begun this Letter 5 days have Elapsed in
which time I have taken my Passage & Cousin
John's on board the Leathly, Peter Harrison Comm'',
for London ; and that we May have Some Money
to Spend Among the Spaniards in Case we Should
be Nabb'd by them I have by this Opportunity
ordered £500 Ste'' insurance against Capture i. e.
300 £ for Self & 200 £ for Cousin John.

Pray give my Sincere Duty to My Aunt and my
Love to My Cousins. My Compliments also if you

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 51

please to My friends in Your Neighbourhood. I
am D'^ S"" your most obliged &

most DutifuU Nephew

JM
Betsy is Eecovered of the
Fever & Ague

Mr. Murray remained in England and Scotland
until the latter part of 1742, busy with various com-
mercial affairs of himself and his friends in North
Carolina. A promise from his cousin Barbara was
obtained during his stay, and when he came back to
Cape Fear, which he did in February, 1743, it was
in the hope of a speedy return to Scotland for the
marriage.

Mr. Murray, as has been said, was appointed
collector of the port in 1739. At about that time
New Town, the village where he lived, was made
the port of entry, to the great detriment of Bruns-
wick, which had formerly been the port. This was
a grievance to which the opposing faction could not
submit in silence. A sHght skirmish of letters be-
tween Roger Moore and Mr. Murray was but the
prelude to a complaint in the form of a memorial to
the Board of Trade, signed by Nath. Rice, Eleazer
Allen, E. Moseley, and R. Moore.

JAMES MUEBAT TO EOGEE MOORE.

Newto 24*h Nov' 1739.

SiK, I received your Letter Desiring me as
Deputy Naval Officer to Come down to Brunswick

52 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

to Clear out the Henry & Mary of Hull — I am to
inform You that his Excellency has Appointed me
principal Naval Officer of this port. With Orders
to reside here : And He bids me tell you, that if
you think either his Majesties Revenue or the in-
terest of the County is injured thereby : You may
Represent it to the Lords of the Treasury or to y*
Com" of the Customs Who No Doubt mU give
proper Orders thereupon
I am

Sir your Very humble Serv'

Soon after this episode, Mr. Murray was drawn into
poUtical life by Governor Johnston, who, in Febru-
ary of that year, secured his appointment as a mem-
ber of the Board of Councilors.^ The appointment
was not, judging from the two ensuing letters, espe-
cially desired by Mr. Murray, but rather brought
about by the Governor's need of his cooperation.

The quit-rent law, to which the first of these
letters refers, was passed before Mr. Murray entered
the Council. Governor Johnston, who was first and
foremost a faithful servant to the king, reported
that the law would raise the revenue to be derived
from the province by the crown from nothing at
all to ,£1800 a year, and added as a secondary con-
sideration that it would " bring peace and tranquil-
lity to a colony which had from its first settlement
been quarreling about the points now so happily
adjusted." He shared the common view of the

1 Mr. Murray was then twenty-seven years of age. ^

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 53

time in looking upon the proviace merely as a means
of procuring revenue for the mother country.

The collecting of the quit-rents was, as he said,
a matter ia which the people had long been success-
ful in baffling their governors. They would not,
and probably could not, pay in gold or sUver, or
even in paper currency, their proper dues, but were
found year after year " insisting on paying their
rents in the worst and most bulky kind of their
produce, such as butter, cheese, feathers, tar, pitch,
Indian corn, &c." These commodities, moreover,
the people maintained, must be fetched by govern-
ment if they were to be obtained at all, as they had
not means of transportation. The result was that
the rents usually went unpaid.

Johnston's quit-rent law hmited the commodities
to inspected tobacco, hemp, flax, and beeswax, which,
moreover, were to be rated so much under their real
value that transportation would be covered by the
gain in selling them abroad, while no planter would
give the preference to payment in commodities if he
could possibly lay hold of currency for his rents.

As to the value of the currency itself, the relation
between the bUls of the province and sterling and
proclamation money was to be settled yearly by the
principal persons of the government.

The law also touched upon the disputed point of
the blank patents. By it such patents as were regis-
tered in due time and ascertained were confirmed,
provided that their aggregate amount did not exceed
150,000 acres ; but those that bore a date subsequent

54 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

to the purchase by the crown were left entirely to
his majesty's pleasure " either to allow them or to
declare them null and void."

JAMES MUEEAY TO HENET MCCULLOH.

Cape Fear, 30 Jan'y, 1739/40.

... As to Publick Affairs I wrote you in My
last that since the Reconcilement Occasioned by the
Quit Rent Law M'' Allen Had Joined the family,^
who thereby had got a Majority in Council & were
like to Carry things in an Arbitrary and Selfish
Way, for Which Reason I proposed to You the
taking out my Mandamus, and Charge the fees to
Me. But Since that the Govern' has had a letter
from the Board- of Trade Wherein they inform him
that his Majesty has been Graciously Pleased to
Appoint Me a Member of his Council here. Which
Will be a Sufficient Warrant for the Gov" to Call
me to My place if he finds his Majes^° And the
Countrys Service Absolutely require it. Till then
I Do not Desire it. So you '11 take Care Not to
Advance any More Money on that Ace* than what
I have Already paid the Board of Trade. The
Effects of the Quit Rent Law, beside What I have
Mention"', are that it has Made the Gov"^ Independent
either of Mosely, Moore &c, whom we call the fam-

1 A term of derision possibly dating from the time when Maurice
Moore and others, in a document setting forth the claims for consid-
eration possessed by these holders of the blank patents, stated that
there were " twelve thousand persons in their families " and in
families of those under their care. Colonial Records of North Caro-
lina, vol. xviii. p. 310.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 55

ily, or of the Northern Men ; and his Conduct even
Since the Quitrent Law has been Approved by both
Sides and by the Country in General. The Only
thing the People Complain of is that by the clause
in the Q. R. L. for Valuing y° Currency We are
now to Pay our Quit-rents at ten Currency for one
Sterhng, whereas before We Grumbled at 7 for
one . . .

I hear Mr. Roger Moore alledges that he has an
old patent (which is now confirmed by the Q. R. L.)
that he Says is Within your 72,000 acres ; and
sometimes he says it is Within the Bounds of y'
Land Sold Vaughan. You '11 Observe a Clause in
the Quit Rent Law that all Disputes between Pro-
prietors' Patents and those lately issued are Deter-
minable by the Govf in Council, who I hope will
take Care that no injury be done to you.

The removal from Brunswick of the port of entry
was only the forerunner of a yet greater blow to
the family. The Governor's account of the doings
of the General Assembly of February reads very
smoothly, — " Our Assembly, which met here on
the fifth of February, 1740, is just now prorogued.
They behaved with decency and parted in very
good humor (a thing not very common here) after
passing some Laws. At present I shall only take
notice of one, which is an Act to erect a Village
called Newtown on the Cape Fear River, into a
township by the name of Wilmington. . . . The
town is at the meeting of the two great branches

56 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

of the Cape Fear River, its road capable of receiv-
ing vessels of great burthen. ... I always looked
upon the want of a Town with a Convenient Port
as one of the greatest Obstacles to the Improve-
ment of the Trade of the Country and the poHshing
its inhabitants. I return your Lordship's thanks
for recommending Mr. Murray."

As a matter of fact it was a time of storms, at least
in the Council. The favoring of Newtown and giv-
ing it, as the township of Wilmington, the dignity
of one of the chief places in the province, could
not have been done at that time had not the Gov-
ernor been able to call Mr. Murray to a seat in the
Council ; ^ even then it was only accomphshed by

1 " At a Council held at Newbern 18th February, 1739/40.
Present his Excellency the Governour

f W" Smith Math Rowan "l Esq"

The Honorable ] Nath Rice Edw* Moseley I Members of

^ Rob' Halton Roger Moore [ His Majesty's

Eleaz' Alien J Council.

His Excellency the Governour was pleased to acquaint this Board that
he had received a letter from Right Honorable the Lords of Trade
and Plantations Signifying that he had been graciously pleased to
approve of his recommendation of Mr Murray for a Councillor of
this Province in the room of Mr Porter deceased, which the Gov-
ernour ordered to be read . . .

Whitehall, Sept. 12th, 1739.

Sib, — . . . In compliance with your request of the 8th of Feby.
1737/8 we have recommended Mr Murray to . . . his Majesty for a
Councillor in the room of Mr Porter deceased and his Majesty has
been graciously pleased to approve of him accordingly. . . .

M. Bladen.

Ja. Brudenell.

R. Plumek.

. . . And the said Mr Murray, being called to the Board and ac-

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 57

what was virtually a tie vote, made decisive by the
eldest councilor's casting a second ballot in addition
to his first. This the opposing party insisted was
illegal, but the Governor gave it his sanction. The
four menabers who had voted against the measure
were the former memoriahsts, Rice, Moore, Allen,,
and Moseley. They sent in a protest to the Gov-
ernor, which was answered, as follows, by the other
four who had favored it, Wm. Smith, Robert Hal-
ton, Mathew Rowan, and James Murray : —

" As their [the protestants'] tedious account of
the casting vote is but a second edition of their
Protest given at Newtown a httle improved in stile
and virulence since their arrival at Cape Fear, a few
words will serve as an answer to it. We were then
and are still of Opinion that in case of an equality
of Votes there must be a decisive Vote in the first
Person in the Commission, and this we take to be
warranted by the practice of several corporations
and societies at Home ; and if ever it was necessary
or allowable, We do conceive it to be so in this
case, for as the Council has seldom or never con-
sisted of above eight persons with such a vote it
would be in the power of four persons to stop all
manner of business and put a negative upon Gov-
ernor's Council and House of Burgesses, and this
we look upon as an absurdity which can never take

quainted therewith took and subscribed the several oaths by law
appointed to be taken for the qualification of Public Officers also to
execute said Office Faithfully." Colonial Records of North Carolina,
vol. iv. pp. 444, 445.

58 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

place in any Constitution founded on that of Great

Britain."

Mr. Saunders ^ characterizes Johnston's acceptance
of this castmg vote as arbitrary and unjust. The
above answer, which bears some marks of Mr.
Murray's pen, must stand as the Governor's defense.

Mr. Murray's own account of these matters is as
follows : —

JAMES MUREAT TO [PROBABLT MR. HOUSTON].

Cape Fear, 25th March, 1740.
Dbab Sir, — This waits on you with Copy of my
last of the 30th Jan^^^. Smce that time the assembly
met at New Berne where our Southern gentlemen
(viz. M' Moore and friends) expected to carry every-
thing before them and auned at no less than turn-
ing out Chief Justice Smith and putting a tool of
their own in his place. To effect this they exhib-
ited articles against him in the Lower House,
which for want of proof were then dismissed with-
out ever being bro' up to the Gov"^ in Council who
was to have tried him. This being over and the
Governor finding the house of burgesses disposed
to do business, but being apprehensive of a stop
being put to everything in the Council that was not

every way agreeable to the , who had the

majority in Council by reason of CoU" Pollock's
absence, he^ sent for me and swore me in by virtue
of the Lords of Trades Let". Then the assembly
proceeded to business and passed several laws, one

' Editor of the Colonial Records of North Carolina.

A PIONEEK PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 59

of which estabhshes Newton a town by the name of
Wihnington with Privilege of Sending a Member
to the Assembly &c. I refer you to the Copy of
the acct which is enclosed. The other three acts
are for directing the method of proving book debts,
for allowing wages to the Members of both Houses
viz : 40/ to one and 30/ a day to the other during
their Sitting, and appointing John Hodgson speaker
of the Lower house pubhck Treasurer for Albe-
marle. It was also resolved by both Houses of
Assembly that the families lately arrived from North
Britain and settled in the Neighborhood of your
Lands on the North West branch of Cape Fear
Kiver should be exempted from aU taxes for ten
years, next after their arrival and that all protestant
famihes that shall come from Europe to settle in
this province provided their number at setting out
be above forty shall in like manner be exempted
from all taxes for ten years next after their arrival.
The assembly was prorogued to Edenton there to
be held on the 2d Tuesday of November next.
And the Gov"" Intends to hold the assembhes after
that at Edenton and Wilmington by tiu?ns. The
Court of Chancery is appointed to be held here twice
a year.

The law for this town passing in the council only
by the President's casting vote, there being four
for and four against the bill, the Moores think they
have thereby a good handle to get a law Repealed
at home that affects them so much here. I think I
may Venture to say that it is for yoiir Interest to

60 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Support that law and get it confirmed if Possible.
Captain Woodward it wiU also obUge, who had
much rather live here than at Brunswick. He is
very much indisposed, and has been this long time
with the Gout.

As to Remittances, I shall be able to do something
from my old debts when the receiver general returns
from the Collection of the Quit Rents at the nor-
ward, and as soon as I have a ship load of either
Tar or Pitch or part of both with some Rice ready
shall send for a vessel to South Carolina or Boston,
let the freight be what it will. While the Export
of this River continues in the hands it is in at pre-
sent, I expect to meet with all the Disappointment
they can give. They have already show'd me in
several instances what they are capable of doing.
But I shall be able within a twelve month to over-
come all the hindrance they can give me so far as
to satisfy those concerned with me. And what in-
jury they can do to my private fortune I had and
win much rather put up with than basely truckle to
a set of men whose doings are in my opinion so far
from being justifiable. . . .

I have for some months been Naval Officer of this
Port at Request and for the benefit of my Brother
Clark who formerly executed that office and who
wiU take it into his hands again as soon as he is
superseded by a Collector from home for the Port of
Bath, whom he expected long ere now. As soon
as the Gov"^ returns from the Norward so that he
(Mr. Clark) can send him his accots attested I shall

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 61

have a sterling bill of at least forty pounds from
him.

The advantage I have by the naval office is that
it brings a great deal of ready money into my hands.

A year later Mr. Murray bore testimony in a letter
to Mr. McCulloh, then newly arrived in America, as
to the relations between Johnston and the people in
general.

JAMES MTJRRAT TO HENET MCCULLOH.

Wilmington, Cape Fear, 12'' April, 1741.
I had the pleasure to Receive the agreable News
of your Safe arrival by your letters of the 4*h & 7*h
March while I was at Edenton, on which I heartily
Congratulate you, M" M°Culloch and family. . . .
I Keturned here on friday last after having seen
a period to a long session of Assembly at Edenton
where a good deal of business has been done. I de-
Hvered the letters you inclosed me to the Governor,
who has published the instructions relating to the
Land Office by proclamation, and that relating to
the reducing of our Money to Procl. Standard was
not thought Necessary to be made pubHck. Nor
Could he Conveniently promulgate the other instruc-
tions &c. till the Sitting of next Coimcil here on
the third tuesday of May, and it is hoped you will
be very Cautious in making any declarations about
them that will reach this place before the end of
May. . . . There has been some debate in Council
how My Lord Carteret is to be P"* his eight part of

62 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

the Quit Eents, whither out of the Gross or Neat
Produce ; but they would not take upon y" to de-
termine the same, but left the Eeceiver General to
do as he pleased. No doubt you are informed how
My Lord receives his share in So. Caroliua & how
he ought to Eeceive it here.

The Collection of the Quit Eents for this Year
and for aU Arrears will as much as possible be
endeavoured to be Compleated before the latter end
of May. The Officers have Eeced so Uttle of these
4 or 5 years Salary that they would be very much
Straitened without it. As to the Disputes of this
province, they are not between the people in Gen-
eral and the Governor, for they are very well satis-
fied with him, but there are a certain set of Men in
this Province who are never to be Satisfied, if they
have not the Cheif Management of Affairs. As you
may meet with some of this Complexion before I
have the pleasure of Seeing you I depend so much
upon my knowledge of you and on your knowledge
of their Characters that I am Certain a Caution of
increduhty and reservedness untill you have been
sometime in the Country would be altogether need-
less.

If this finds you in S° Caroliua I would advise
M's M^Culloch rather to put up with the inconven-
iences of this place than to trust her self this sum-
mer in so sickly and Mortal a place as S" Carolina.
It is thought this place is rather cooler than any to
the Nor'ard iu the Settlements of this province by
reason of y° constant breeze —

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 63

Mr, McCulloh, on his arrival at Cape Fear, occu-
pied Mr. Murray's house, availing himself of the
offer contained in the following letter. The diffi-
culties of the journey in those days, so cheerfully
minimized by Mr. Murray, are apt to be forgotten
unless brought to mind by some such evidence as
this.

JAMES MTJEKAT TO HENET MCCULLOH.

Wilmington, 11"" May, 1741.

... I am sorry that Affairs of any kind should
detain you so long in Charlestown particularly at
this season of the year. I shoidd think it much the
easiest way for M" McCulloh and you too to come
by water. If the risque of being taken at sea is
apprehended to be great, the coming withia land to
Wiayan [Winyah] and thence up Wackaman [Wa-
camaw] to within 5 miles of the widow Master's I
am told is very practicable and wiU shorten the
Journey to three very easy days riding. You may
have as many horses as you please sent to any place
at or on this side Winyan on 5 or 6 days notice
before the time they '11 be wanted. . . .

In my house there is a large Room 22 by 16 feet,
the most airy of any in the Country, two tolerable
lodging rooms & a Closet up stairs & Garrets above,
a Cellar below divided into a Kitchen with an oven
and a Store for Liquors, provisions, &c. This makes
one half of my house. The other, placed on the
east end, is the Store Cellar below, the Store and
Counting House on the first floor, & above it is

64 JAMES MUKEAY, LOYALIST

partition'd oS. into four rooms, but this end is not
plaister'd but only done with rough boards. Of this
house you may have as much as you please, for I
can send my Apprentice & Httle Sister, who are all
the family (beside Serv'^) that I have now to take
care of, I say I can send them or at least her to my
Brother Clark's. You 'U find here the best water in
either of the Provinces, & you 'U generaly be well
suppUed with fish only by one hand or two employ' d
that way. We are also much better Situated for
having supplys from the Country. But without a
Cook wench, a store of Rum, Wine, flower, Melasses,
Sugar, Tea, &c., brought with you you'll find your
self at a Loss for want of them, or else supphed with
them & everything else that is not the produce of
the Country at most extravagant rates. If you in-
tend to do any business here, a Cooper and a Craft
that will carry about 100 barrels will be absolutely
necessary. I have suffer'd much for want of them,
and that want of Craft and negroes will be a great
obstruction in secm-ing the Quantity of Naval Stores
at this time that otherwise I might do. Tar is 30
to 35/, Pitch 50 to 55/, Turpentine 70/ p bar\ Eice
£4 to £4.10 p C, boards 15 to £17.10 p thous'> feet,
white oak hh"* Staves £15 Pm, Shingles 80 to 90/
Pm.

The Gov' win be here the latter end of this
week or beginning of next, and if M" Johnston
does not continue in the bad state of health she was
in when I left Edenton I am in hopes he will stay

A PIONEEK PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 65

'til your arrival or at least 'til the return of this
Express.

As to the little Politicks and disputes of this
place, I was never more unconcern' d than at present,
for I have nothing either to hope or fear from the
Issue of them except the pleasure of re-estabUshing
a good understanding among my friends whom I
know to be Gentlemen of worth & honour.

With all his energy and a fair share of hopeful-
ness, Mr. Murray was whoUy without the main-
spring of sanguine enthusiasm which moved the
New England emigrants and supported the Quakers,
a trait of character which has come to stand at home
and abroad as one distinctive mark of an American.
A true American James Murray never became. Still,
he was essentially a man of a pubHc spirit, and so
far as that spirit could be exercised in an atmosphere
of party faction he exercised it. His pubHc stand-
ing was high, and he always wrote about provincial
matters with a certain tone of authority.

In the year in which he was made a member of
the Council, George Whitefield, who had come over
from England with Fox, visited North Carolina, while
his colleague devoted himself to Virginia. He evi-
dently urged the importance of schools, and in this
Mr. Murray was ready to second him, not being of
the mind of Governor Berkeley, who broke out, in
his report to the proprietors in 1671 : " Yet I
thank God there are no free schools nor printing

66 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

presses, and I hope we shall not have any these
hundred years. For learning has brought disobedi-
ence and heresy, and sects into the world, and
printing has divulged them, — God keep us from
both."

JAMES MUKRAY TO THE EEV. GEOEGE WHITEPIELD.
Wilmington, Cape Fear, June 24", 1740.

D" Sir ... I heartily thank you for the two
barrels flower that you were so kind to Send Me, &
the sermons &c with the good advice you give me
along with them is very ObH^ing, & Confirms Me
in the Opinion I have always had of you Since I
had the hapiness of you acquaintance that you are
Sincere disinterested & indefatigable in promoting
true Religion, — Christianity. Your Sermons here
had (as we have reason to believe) a good EfEect on
Several of your hearers, & the acco' of them made
many others sorry they were absent.

As the great aim of your life is to do good by
propagating the Gospel, it is the opinion of many
People of good sence that there is Not a Province
in America where your preaching is So Much wanted
as in this.

May therefore hope you'U persist in your first
resolution of Staying Sometime among us in yoiir
way from the nor' ward.

As to a School-master, one would certainly be
Very necessary here. I shall consult with those
most Immediatly concern'd in that afFair, & if they
win come under any Engagements sufficient to In-

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 67

courage one to come here I shall presume to give
you the trouble by the Post to Charlestown of a
letter to desire you would recommend one to us.

Early in the year 1744 he went to Scotland to be
married to his cousin Barbara. His plantation he
left in Mr. Clark's hands. His house was occupied
by Mr. McCulloh. Elizabeth's negroes were hired
out, while Elizabeth herself accompanied her brother.

JAMES MTJEEAT TO JAMES HAZEL.

WiLMiKGTON, 28 Feb., 1743/4.

I have three Negroes named Glasgow, Kelso and
Berwick ^ in Trust for my Sister EUzabeth Murray,
which you may have on hire for three years from
the first of March Next, on or before which Time
they Shall be DeHvered to You if You Agree to my
Proposals ; which are : that you Pay Yearly at the
Time and manner after mentioned Eight Pounds
Sterling money of Great Brittain for the Negro
Called Glasgow, and Six Pounds ten Shillings like
money each for Kelso and Berwick, in all Twenty
One Pounds Sterling ; for which Sum You '11 Please
to Deliver to me or my Attorney some Time between
the lO'h Day of May next and the lO'h Day of May
following and so yearly for the said three Years
Good BiUs of Exchange, or a Sufficient Quantity of
Merchantable Produce fitt for a british market, to be
Ship' on your Account & Risque in the first Vessel
that I or my Attorneys can Procure freight in after

^ The names recall the Scottish associations.

68 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

the Receipt of it, on which Produce Such Value
shall be Insured for you on the Usual Terms as You
Please to Direct at each Time of Payment, which
Sum Directed to be Insured Shall be accounted for
to you in the Customary Terms of Interest in Case
of Loss and taken in Payment of the said hii-e, and
the neat Proceeds of Such Commodities so Delivered
& Ship' shall be taken in Payment of the said hire.
Among other Charges of Your Goods aforesaid the
Premium of the Svun you Direct to be Insured is
also to be Deducted from the Neat Proceeds. And
in Case you fail to make Sufficient Payment yearly
within the Time above mentioned as above men-
tion'd, You WiU Pay Whatever Sum you are Defi-
cient, together with Twenty three P Cent thereon,
within two months after Such Deficiency Shall be
known, in Tar at the Current Price here, reducing
the Same to Sterling at the Common Exchange.
You'll allow this Twenty three P Cent advance
because I have excepted of Sixty five pounds (in
Consideration of my being Paid in Sterling money)
instead of Eighty Pounds you Offered to Pay me
here. And as We have by mutual Consent Valued
the said Glasgow at five hundred Pounds, and Kelso
and Berrwick at four hundred Pounds each, you will
Return the said three Negroes at the expiration of
the said three Years from the first of March next,
Provided they are alive, but in Case of the Death of
them or any of them, or in Case they or any of them
run away, so as they can not be found, then & in
either of these Cases you must Pay in the Same

A PIONEEK PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 69

manner you pay the hire aforesaid the Value as
above fixed of such Negro or Negroes Dead or run
away as aforesaid, and allow the hire of such Dead
or Run away Negro as i£ he had been aHve and pre-
sent untill you Pay the Value of him as aforesaid ;
and in Case of their being runaway so as not to be
had in a Resonable Time, you shall have a BUI of
Sale for Such Runaway on Paying the Value as
aforesaid and in Case any of them shall Receive any
Damage by the WilfuU abuse of Your Overseer,
then you must allow for Such Damage at the Re-
turning of the Said Slaves, I am
Sir
Your most humble Serv*

At some time during this year — 1744 — James
Murray and Barbara Bennet were married. For five
years after his marriage Mr. Murray remained in
England and Scotland. He lived at one time at
Ninton, at another at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, at an-
other in London. It was in a house on Tower Hdl,
in London, in the year 1745, that his eldest child,
Dorothy, was born. The death of Mr. Clark recalled
him to America, whither with his wife and child and
his sister EHzabeth he returned in 1749. He sailed
first to Boston, where EHzabeth, as wiU be seen in a
later chapter, established herself in business, and
leaving his wife and child there temporarily ia his
sister's charge, he repaired alone to Cape Fear.

The shoals of the North Carohna coast, and the
ignorance of the captain, nearly brought shipwreck

70 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

to the vessel in which he sailed from Boston. An
account of the misadventure was sent to his cousin
and sister-in-law, Jean Bennet. The two sisters,
Anne and Jean Bennet, stood in a pecuharly inti-
mate and dear relation to their sister Barbara's fam-
ily, being able, as they never formed absorbing ties
of their own, to give the warmest affection and sym-
pathy to her, her husband, and her children. They
were long held in remembrance by James Murray's
descendants, several of whom bore their united
names, "Anne Jean."

JAMES MUKEAT TO JEAN BENNET.

Cape Fear July 24", 1749.
... I had yesterday the Happiness to receive
Letters of the 24 June from my Lass and my Sister
at Boston. . . . You will be curious to know how I
do to Uve without them. Why, to confess the truth,
I have a much better time of it than I expected.
Whether this is owing to age, to the Heat of the
Season, the regularity of my life, or to that Serious
turn which grows upon me and becomes more and
more agreeable, I cannot tell. I shall leave you to
determine. I Discover for all, however, by this Sep-
aration that so much of my Happiness depends upon
my Dear B — that I shall be very averse to such
another parting while it pleases God to continue us
in hfe, and I purpose to be like the Prodigal son
after his hardships more obhging for the time to
come. But where am I got to ? . . . Since I Came
here I have been in good Spirits and without any

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 71

sort of ailment. I had indeed a little fright in
coming which discomposed me. The Story of it is
this :

We left Boston on the S"' of June, and after
much contrary winds, warm weather and a Stream
against us we made the land on Thursday, the G"*
of July, about 11 o'clock, having had Soundings
about 20 fathom at 8. The day was clear and the
wind was fair. In these Circumstances I foxmd a
heart more grateful than I believe it would have
been after the same Voyage perform'd in a Week
or ten days. At noon we were by the Cap' &
Mate's observation ab' 30 m south of our port.
While we were thus sailing along at the rate of
four or five miles an hour, and the Pines raising
their heads more distinctly to owe View, I took the
advantage of this Good temper to review my con-
duct in the place to which I was now returning, to
resolve an Amendment of the many faulty parts of
it, and to acknowledge the undeserved goodness of
Providence in the several Dispensations by which I
had been led to so just a sense of my Sins and to a
clearer perception of those Rules which adher'd to
wlU secure my Tranquillity in this life and my hap-
piness in the next. I need not tell you how much
this meditation exalted the pleasure of my present
situation & at the same time check'd the excess
of it.

About two o'clock we discover'd, as we thought,
the Inlet of Cape Fear and saw a small Vessel going
in before us. At three we came so near as to see

72 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

a Ship at Anchor within the Harbour. From that
time til four we were trying in vain to bring our
Land marks to bear, perplex'd with the shoalness
of the Water and with the Breakers we saw ahead.
At last, dreading some mistake, we try'd to stretch
out again to sea, but the Wind & tide were so
strong against us we could not. Then we run in as
well as we could. A httle after four o'clock the Ship
thump'd on the ground about two leagues distant
from the shore. At the same time that this shock
made my feet start from the Deck it rais'd my heart
from its place. The People Star'd at one Another,
and the Dog with his tail between his feet run into
the Steerage. After a few of these strokes the ship
went forward no more, but was only hfted up with
the Sea and let faU in the same place. It luckily
happen'd to be sand, and she stuck right on her
Keel. The Pump was tried ; as yet she made no
water. The Sails were left standing to hinder her
from Striking, and the Yawl was hoisted out with
5 hands to search for the Channel. They returned,
finding it all shoal round. Now we fir'd Guns and
made other Signals of distress, tho' we knew no
help could come to us against such a wind and tide.
WhUe we were lying in this posture, the man who
was left in the boat to prevent her staving against
the Ship let his rope SUp, and away he went. He
had nought on but a shirt & P of trewsers, no sub-
sistence, no help in the boat, and above two leagues
to the Harbour. Tho' the Wind was in, the tide
was almost spent, so we gave up the man for lost ;

A PIONEEK PLANTER EST NORTH CAROLINA 73

but that was a small matter to us compar'd to the
loss of the boat and the Oars on which our own
lives depended. Towards High water between 7 &
8 o'clock it looked very black, thunder'd and Hght-
ened much, so that we expected a Storm and to
pass our last night but uncomfortably. Yet the
Common Sailors shew'd the same Stupidity, the
same inconcern about a future State, and the same
disregard of a Supreme Power now they were about
to die as they had done in their lives.

A Black Dismal night Succeeded and the Wind
increased, but by this time the Water left us at rest
upon the Sand and the Wind drove the Waves
against the ship as against a Rock, the noise of
which prevented me from Sleeping tho I was very
much fatigued with helping to heave out Balast to
lighten the ship. At last about twelve o' Clock I
fell fast a Sleep and was so happy as qviite to forget
the Condition I was in til near three next morning,
when I wakd calm and in good Spirits. Now it
being low Water, we saw there was not above two
feet Water all round, and the Cap* now first lost all
hopes of the Ship and cried like a Child. I had
put up the night before a Candlebox with a couple
of Shirts, some papers &c, and was puting in the
Silver Spoons ; but the Cabin boy told me to put
them in my pockets, for they would be taken out of
the box. " A good thought," said I, ^' George, they
will help to sink me the sooner when turn'd a Drift,
and if I 'm sav'd they '11 be safe." While I was
lying awake and the waves giving us long warning

74 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

of their Approach I thought my self very lucky
that my wife was not with me, and now I had a
very lively view of the vanity of all worldly Posses-
sions. Here was a good Vessel, which we imagined
was in a few hours to be safe in her port, like to be
reduced to a wreck, and ourselves glad to give up
every thing to save our lives and but httle prospect
of that. Now what avail'd all the Studies, cares
& fatigue of my life except those which tended to
improve me in Virtue and Religion ? Now it was
my greatest Support to have a firm perswasion that
whether God intended my life or Death it was in
Mercy to me ; if Hfe, to wean me still more from
the world and give me another Instance of De-
liverance never to be forgot; if Death to take
me out of the way of approaching Temptation
and for Exercise to the Piety of those concerned
in me.

Our Hopes began again to dawn with the Day,
at least of being safe in our Hves. The Weather
was moderate & the wind off shore, a thing very
uncommon on this coast at this Season. About
Sunrise we saw a Boat coming out, which in a little
time came to an Anchor and made a Signal for us
to send our Boat to her ; but we could not, having
nothing but a great Long boat, no Sails and but
two oars. As soon as there was water sufficient she
made toward us and to our great Joy we found it
was the Pilot of Winyan, which place we had mis-
taken for Cape Fear. To bring you and myself
out of this trouble a little faster than he did, I must

A PIONEER PLANTER ET NORTH CAROLINA 75

briefly let you know that when we saw him every
one, having no hopes of saving the ship, began to
put up what few things they chused to save to be
thrown on board the boat. He boarded us about
seven and told us that a few yards distant from us
lay a large parcell of Stones thrown out by another
ship in the like distress, which if we had light upon
would infallibly have destroy'd us. Favourd with a
fair wind & moderate Weather, he got us off again
about nine o'Clock to deep water, where you will
be glad to leave us til the next Day, being Satur-
day, that we came safe in here.

Mrs. Murray joined her husband in August, 1750,
and in the course of a year or two Point Repose,
as the North Carolina plantation was fitly called,
became their home.

JAMES MUKKAT TO JOHN MUEEAT OF PHILIPHATJGH.

Wilmington, Nov. 10 1750.
... I am giving up all thoughts of Trade and
retiring to a Plantation in the Country there not to
live in a disgraceful Ease but to be ready at every
call to serve my Country or my Friend. When I
was appointed one of his Majestys Council for this
Province about Eleven year ago there were Eight
before me now I stand the fourth in the List — this
office to compare small things with great is like
your Attendance on Parliament it gives me the
benefit of a two hundred Miles Ride twice a Year,
some Influence in the Country and some Power to

76 JAMES MTJKRAY, LOYALIST

promote the good of it That and the Charge of
Sisters Eamily and the Independence I can live in
are my Chief Inducements to spend the rest of my
Days here and never more to think of crossing the
Atlantick. . . . M"^ Rutherford with aU his easy Tem-
per is more pushing than one would imagine he is
daily expected here with a Commission for Receiv""
Gen' of the Kings Quitrents and a Considerable
Cargo both obtaind as we hear by the Assistance
of M' Dinwiddie — his Place wiU be attended with
much fatigue and Perquisites worth about two hun-
dred a year.

My Wife desires to be dutifully remembered with
me to Lady Philiphaugh and all your family. I have
at last got her from Boston to help to plant this
New Country but not tiU I went for her — In May
last I arrived in Boston and left it the end of
August by which I had an opportunity of spend-
ing three of the most disagreeable Months of this
Climate in that poor Healthy Place New England
— their Health they owe to Gods goodness their
Poverty to their own bad Pohcy and this to their
Popular Government.

I have Httle to say of our Friends here but
that they are all well — my Eldest daughter is the
only Child I have now alive she is a thumping
Girl.^ My Sister Clark has three fine boys and a
Daughter.

The temporary shelter which held the family at

* Of the death of the daughter born in Boston there is no mention.

A PIONEER PLANTER m NORTH CAROLINA 77

first "was before long replaced by a comfortable brick
mansion, and though the tale of deaths following
hard upon births, bearing evidence to the unhealth-
iness of the climate, is a sad one, the general tone
of hfe there was that of cheerful success.* Mr.
Murray's letters to Mrs. Bennet, and to Mrs. Clark,
who, in 1753, went back to Scotland, give an idea of
the varied and healthful interests of the planter's
life, as well as of his unfailing kindness to his sister,
now dependent on him for support.

JAMES MUEEAT TO BAEBAEA CLABK.

Cape Peak, Febr^ 26", 1755.

... I have about 100 thous'd Bricks burn*, &
am to begin my House, if the Bricklayer keep his
word, early next Month. My Crop of Rice comes
much short of my expectation, partly by its having
been too rank & Lodging & partly from Ignorance &
want of Convenience to manage it. The middle part

James Murray's children, so far as the letters and records show
•were : —

Dorothy, b. 1745, in London; died 1811.

Daughter, b. Jan. 1749, in Boston; died .

Archibald, b. July 1751, in North Carolina; died 1753.

John.

Jean, b. 1754, in North Carolina; died 1758.-

Elizabeth, b. 1756, in North Carolina; died 1837.

Infant, b. 1758, in North Carolina; died 1758.

1 He was always supported by a philosophic habit of mind. Of a
cousin's death he wrote, for example, in 1757, " These Incidents
ought to learn us to lean little on Comforts of that kind & to re-
semble old Officers season'd in Service, who are not so much con-
cernd to see their Freinds dropping from about them as watchful to
do their own part, till it comes to their Turn to fall."

78 JAMES MUKRAY, LOYALIST

of my Log house I was obliged to turn into a
Barn to pound the Rice in, not being able to get a
bricklayer in time last faU to build a Barn, and tho
I stUl continue Secretary the Money I get since the
Presidents Cmrency came out is all proc. This
renders My remittance for you and my Creditors
Slacker & more difficult than I expected it. I thank
God, however I have Received & am to receive suf-
ficient to make both them & you easier, & the money
employ'd in raising your Nursery gives me more
pleasure than any I spend otherways, so you ought
not to abate that pleasure by uneasiness or repining
on that Score. If Indigo holds its price, or any thing
near it, I shall be able to do a great deal, & so will
the province in general.^

JAMES MURRAY TO RICHARD OSWALD & CO.

Cape Fear, Feb. 28, 1755.
. . . Being well acquainted with your Pubhck
Spirit, I beg leave to put you in mind of represent-
ing to the Lords of Trade & Admiralty the Excel-
lent qnahty of oiu- Cypress & its fitness for Masts,
& how much it would tend to increase our Shipping
if proper encouragement could be had for Sending
home our pine plank, which far exceeds that of Nor-
way which you buy with ready money, whereas ours
would be the purchase of your own Manufactores.

' His success in indigo was fair. In 1759 he wrote to his brother
John, " I have made about 1000 lb to my share this year, besides
Rice and Tar and might have made clear double that quantity had
my Overseer been good."

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 79

The bounty on Indigo & several other Articles is a
proof how usefull that kind of reward is to drive
people out of a beaten Track of mispending their
Time into unprofitable exports. The people of this
Province are about 30,000, who from their Poverty
& the Scarcity of European goods, the Effect of
their poverty, are obliged to waste much of their
time in the Manufactures of wool, flax & Cotton
which with a vast deal more benefit to themselves as
weU as to the Mother Country might be employed
in making the rough Materials to be Manufactored
where Labour is Cheap & the Climate & soil more
inhospitable. The Poverty of this Province appears
to me (but to few in the Province beside me) to be
owing in a great measure to our dabling in a paper
Currency & dispensing with all special Contracts,
under pretince of supporting the Credit of that Cur-
rency, but in truth to answer the ill designs of the
Champions for it to enable them to pay their Credit-
ors on their own terms. Another cause of our Pov-
erty, idleness & uselessness to our Mother Country,
& likewise of the thinness of our Settlements, [is] a
Single person being able to hold a great quantity
at a low rent without Cultivation. AU Instructions
restraining this are continualy broke thro. A more
effectual way to remedy the past ills of this kind &
to prevent the future seems to be to impose a smart
Land tax, either by the General union, if it takes
place, if not by act of Parliament. Such an act
might be so contrived as to procure a good rent roll
for the Crown thro out the Provinces, a Consider-

80 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

able part of this Tax to be applied to encourage
Manufactures benificial to the Province & Great
Britain. I make no Apology for these Hints. Use
them as you please. Our Governor ^ has the Interest
of the Crown & his Government much at heart, but
does not throughly understand the ill Tendency of a
paper Currency, especially to a poor Colony, as will
be evident to you when I send you his plan for a
Land Bank. To this plan it seems he has got the
previous Concurrence of the Lords of Trade, & it is
to come under consideration next Assembly in No-
vember. If it passes, it will continue us in spite of
Indigo so much the longer useless to our selves & the
Mother Country.

JAMES MUEEAT TO SAMPSON SIMPSON.

M^ Sampson Simpson >
Meroh' in New York )

Cape Fear, Sept. 4, 1756.
... If you Can meet with a Sober diligent man vdth
or without a familly, Skilld in Tanning and Curry-
ing, I desire the favour of you to engage him for me
for three years at the rate of forty Pounds Sterling
payable in the Currency of this Province yearly, or
thirty Pounds like Money payable as aforesaid with
Provision, lodging & washing. I shall pay the Cus-
tomary Passage for one or two persons, provide him
a House & Some ground to Plante, about 5 Acres

^ Governor Dobbs, who had recently succeeded to the governor-
ship upon the death of Governor Johnson. Mr. Murray's opposition
to this measure and to others proposed by Dobbs drew down upon
him the governor's ill-will.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 81

fenced in for himself i£ he has a familly. You may
put an advertisement in your paper for this purpose
if you see it necessary, and let me Know before
Christmas, whether I Can be Suplied by you.

JAMES MTJEEAY TO JOHN WALLACE.

Mr. John Wallace >
Merch' in New York |

Cape Fbab, Sep' 4, 1756.

... I am also in need of good Sawyer to tend a

Saw Mill, which when weU tended & in a Common

year wiU Cut about 100 Thousa*^ feet. To such a

one I would be willing to give a tenth part of the

Lumber Sawn. ... If M' FrankUa would Send me

his Gazette postage free, it Should be punctualy

paid for, & it would also oblige our President, who

is my next Neighbour. . . .

JAMES MXTREAT TO EICHAED OSWALD & CO.

Cape Fear, July 19, 1756.

... I find also by a trial that my overseer, a Swiss,
has made both this year & last that silk may be made
here to great advantage. The worms thrive un-
commonly, fed with the leaves of wild Mulberry.
Whether they wiU be equally healthy upon the ItaUan
I Shall know, as I intend to Plant out 2000 trees
next year. This, I hope, wUl entitle me to the
bounty of your improving society in London. I
have forgot its name. I shall send you a specimen
of the sUk.

82 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

JAMES MUEEAY TO BAEBAKA CLAEK.

Cape Fear, Februry 8'h, 1757.

, . . The accounts you give of the Children's
health & progress except Jammy's are very Satisfac-
tory. Only I think the Master is to blame for keep-
ing back Tommy in Compleisance to his Brother.
We cannot expect that Jam wiU in his sickly way
come any great Length, whereas Tom's genius ought
to be improv'd to the uttermost. It is my Settled
Intention if I live, & let my Family Increase as it
will, to carry on Tom's Education at the Expence of
.£200 or £300 Ster. and to make a Lawyer of him,
if he has not an aversion to it. Brother John pro-
poses to take charge of his Namesake, & Jammy
must come out with you when the others have done
with their Schools, or sooner by himseK when the
war is over, if the Doctor's think it wiU be for the
Benifit of his health. . . .

I am much oblig'd to Lady Don for her kindness
to you & the Children & shall contrive some such
way as you propose to make my Acknowledgments
to her.

When the French and Indian wars broke out,
Mr. Murray followed with interest the movements
of his friend Captain Innes. "You wiU be in-
formed e'er this," he wrote on September 4, 1754,
to Captain Archibald Douglas, " that our old friend
Col. Innes has the chief command of the American
forces aboard the Ohio, where he has an enemy
alert in their preparations and notions, well sup-

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 83

ported, and only a few ragged men from these dis-
contented colonies without money or provisions to
oppose them. Thus he is like to gather few laurels
on these mountains. He had better have stayed at
home to gather lightwood."

Perhaps it was the influence of Dr. Franklin's
gazette that inclined him favorably to the " plan of
general union " mentioned in the following letter,
although it could not endue him with behef in the
immediate greatness of America.

JAMES MXTRRAY TO JOHN RUTHERFORD.

Cape Fear, March 3" 1765.

. . . About a fortnight ago I had the Pleasure
to receive your fav"^ & from the Camp at WiUs
Creek. The calling you ofE from your Connections
& Improvements at home I dare say must be a
great Mortification to you, your Lady & Friends,
but I would fain hope you will do the Business of
the French so speedily that it will only be a short
Recess & give a better ReUsh to your Retirement.
The Plan of the General Union or some thing like
it seems absolutely necessary to bring the Colonies
to act with Vigour in their own Defence, & it is
thought such Union will prove a Step in the Scheme
of Providence for fixing in Time an Empire in
America. But this will be long after our Day.

Every Body in this province (one only excepted)
readily acknowledges Col. Innes's fitness for the
Task he is engaged in, and wiU be as ready to thank

84 JAMES MUERAT, LOYALIST

him in words for His Services but as to pecuniary
Reward I dare say they will not think of it. His
Fortunes they know are not only easy, but opulent.
Theirs in general are not so. The paper Money
they are so bewitchingly fond of gives them, 't is
true, some temporary Eelief, but certainly brings
Discredit, Perfidy & Poverty in the Rear.

If Indigo succeeds, as we have Reason to hope,
the value of our Export will be so increased as to
remove several of the bad Effects of oiu: Paper Coin ;
but if that faUs, we must spin & weave & brew for
ourselves. No body will deal with us. But to re-
turn to a more agreeable Subject, your Letter. . . .
M's Miu-ray & my two Daughters,^ the eldest &
youngest of Sis Children, are now aU my Stock, &
are very healthy & hearty. My Wife has not had
an Hour's sickness since she has been in the Pro-
vince. This and some good Luck as Temporary
Secretary render the Chmate and other Circum-
stances tolerably easy to us. . . .

M" EUiot, Sir Gilbert's Son, about whom you en-
quire, is making moderate bread as a Lawyer, &
that in spite of great Modesty, Integrity & disin-
terestedness, Quahties for which the Gentlemen of
that Profession in this Province are not in General
very remarkable.

Of Braddock's defeat he wrote January 14, 1756,
to his cousin Lady Mary Don : " Being here at a
distance both from the scene and season of war, it

* Dorothy and Jean.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 85

is out of my power to give you any information on
that head, only that our hopes of success are as san-
guine, and we think better founded than ever, since
the French have been so depressed at sea and have
taught us how to attack and defend in the woods.
But whatever coup de maitre by negotiation or arms
the French have in reserve for us, it can hardly be
more surprising than was Braddock's defeat, not in-
deed to everybody, for men of experience, some of
them I have conversed with, saw him by council and
conduct a bird ready for the snare."

While Governor Johnston hved Mr. Murray's in-
terest in pubUc affairs was active, though he did not
by any means support all the Governor's measures.
Johnston had died in 1752. In 1753 Mr. Murray
was appointed " Secretary, Clerk of the Council and
Clerk of the Crown," but he was not in sympathy
with Johnston's successor. Governor Dobbs, who was
appointed in 1754. Friction soon arose between
them, which resulted in 1757 in the suspension by
the Governor of Mr. Murray, as well as of his friend
John Rutherford, then receiver - general of quit-
rents, from their seats as members of the Council
until his Majesty's pleasure shoidd be known.
Through exertions of friends in England, however,
who presented the matter before the proper authori-
ties, both were in 1762, by his Majesty with the ad-
vice of his Privy Council, reinstated, Mr. Murray
beinsf restored to the rank he held at the time of
his suspension. This, owing to the death of the

86 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

senior member, placed him first in the list, with the
ex-ofl&cio rank of president of the Council. The
suspension seems to have given him little concern,
nor are the matters in controversy clearly stated in
his letters, but they may be gathered from the
printed records.

The underlying cause of the suspension, and the
kernel of the whole matter, was Mr. Murray's oppo-
sition to Governor Dobbs. This is apparent from a
letter written by the Governor himself to the Board
of Trade, dated December 27, 1757, in which he
states his case against the two councilors, and in
which Mr. Murray is made to figure in the novel role
of leader of a junto, enemy of the royal prerogative,
and popular agitator. This letter contains the fol-
lowing paragraphs : —

" First it appeared plain to me that they [Murray
and Rutherford] and 2 others had agreed always to
vote together in CouncU and others being disunited
that they might carry or reject what Bills they
thought proper, and thus by a party to make it
necessary to the Governour to confide in them and
govern by a party. But I had also further reasons
against Mr. Murray, who piqued himself in leading
and advising the Junto, that he as one of the Coun-
cil endeavored to lessen his Majesty's prerogative
and add to the power of the Assembly : That he
had endeavored to form a party in the Assembly
to make himself popular against the Government,
raised and encouraged a republican party, drew
clauses in the former Sessions which he gave in his

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 87

own handwriting to them, to obstruct and clog the
Aid Bill by encroaching upon his Majesty's pre-
rogative and taxing the fees of his officers, and so
make a division between the Council and Assembly
in case they would not carry the clause in Council.
However, his clauses were thrown out by manage-
ment in the Lower House. This I had from several
of the members of the Assembly, yet did not think it
prudent to mention it in Council as a charge against
him, but delayed it until by his schemes something
further should appear against him.

" This uniting their Interest together appeared in
their carrying a BiU thro the Council by one vote
to distress the Government by secluding several of
his Majesty's friends from sitting in future assem-
bhes by a BiU to regulate Elections which I rejected,
a Copy of which I send to your Lordships that you
may see what they and the assembly are driving at
to raise their own power and lessen their dependence
on the Crown. This Murray and his Junto did that
they might make me unpopular with the Assembly
in rejecting their favorite Bill. ... I therefore
leave it to your Lordships whether I have done my
Duty in suspending Mr. Murray and Mr. Rutherford
from the Council or whether such a designing man
acting in conjunction with others against the pre-
rogatives is a fit person to be restored and made a
member of the Council." *

The ostensible reason for the suspension, the
" something more which should appear against him,"

1 Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. v. p. 946.

88 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

for which the Governor waited, before suspending
him from the Council, was Mr. Murray's issuing
over his signature printed " notes," which by their
terms promised that they should be accepted by the
Receiver-General in payment of quit-rents due to the
Crown. These instruments were in effect bills
drawn upon the Eeceiver-General, by whom some of
them were accepted by his writing on the face over
his signature, " To be paid with interest," and were
subsequently received in payment of quit-rents from
the persons into whose hands they came. The
charge was thus directed against both Murray and
Rutherford.^ The issue of these bills, and their

1 Governor Dobbs's version of the matter, contained in a letter of
Dee. 26, 1757, to the Lords of the Treasury, is this : —

"... He [Mr. Rutherford] allowed his friend and adviser, Mr.
Murray, one of the Council, to issue printed notes under hand and
seal without limitation to be allowed in payment of Quit Rents with
Interest, . . . which he himself [Rutherford] endorsed or accepted
to give the same a Sanction, and directed the several Sheriffs to take
them in payment of Quit Rents, which was an effectual way to de-
preciate the paper Currency of the Province, vrhich he said was with
an Intention that Mr. Murray might be paid his arrear due from the
Establishment, giving him the preference to others without any or-
ders for it. Upon this sanction Mr. Murray issued Notes of his
own to be allowed in the Counties of New Hanover, Onslow, Duplin
and Bladen, and upon the success he had in issuing of these he then
issued Notes to be allowed in Quit Rents over the whole Province
. . . and refused to pay them in Provincial currency or in anything
but for Quit Rents or for Debts due to him, or for Goods bought
for him at what price he pleased to sell them, which at least is 300 p
cent currency upon sterling money. They said he had issued but few,
for which no evidence appeared and can't tell when it would have ended
if they had not been stop'd by Proclamation, and after their defence
the Council without a Negative voting Mr. Rutherford guilty of a
misdemeanor in his Office I suspended him until his Majesty's plea^

A PIONEEK PLANTER EST FORTH CAROLINA 89

acceptance and receipt by the Eeceiver-General in
lieu of money was apparently irregular, but involved
no bad faith upon the part of either, and was an
expedient, not without precedent, adopted as a
means of securing payment to Mr. Murray of arrears
of his salary then long overdue. At a meeting of
the Council, on December 1, 1757,^ the Governor
brought the matter before the Board, and an order
was passed that a proclamation issue forbidding the
receipt of any such bUls thereafter.

Rutherford vigorously defended his course before
the Council. When called upon by the Governor
to explain his action, he answered,^ " Mr. Murray
having a salary due to him from the Crown for the
time he acted as Secretary and Clerk of the Crown
in this Province, & having occasion to buy corn and
other Commody from the Planters, desired leave
to make use of this expedient to get payment of his
salary, & firmly obliged himself to be accountable to
me in money for the surplus if any. This expedient,"
he continues, " I consented to for the following rea-
sons : —

" 1st. Because the receivers, my Predecessors,

sure is known, and both him and Mr. Murray from the Council. ..."
Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. v. p. 941.

It is to be observed that the letter charges that the notes had been
issued " without limitation," and disregards the statement of Ruther-
ford and Murray that " he had issued but few," on the ground that
no " evidence appeared " to support it, thus casting on them the bur-
den of proving a negative. Rutherford stated specifically that the
amount issued was £320.

1 See Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. v. p. 821.

2 See Ibid., vol. v. p. 937.

90 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

admitted o£ orders from the Officers of the Crown,
in the like cases for Quit Rents and for sums of
greater value.

" 2nd. Because I apprehended it to be well cal-
culated for easing the Tenant and enabling, nay put-
ting him in mind, to pay his rents, and at the same
time for discharging the debts of the Crown with-
out depreciating the Currency, — No person being
compelled to take those notes ia payment, and the
sum issued inconsiderable.

" 3rd. The sum Mr. Murray issued in notes was
three hundred and twenty pounds, of which there are
not more now circulating than eighty eight, and that
shall speedily be called in."

The defense was, however, addressed to unwilling
ears, and the minutes of the meeting of the Council
of December 14, 1757, contain the following re-
cord of the suspension : " . . . and on account of
the Issuing the Printed notes under hand and Seal
by James Murray Esquire promising the same should
be accepted by the Receiver General in payment of
his Majesty's Quit Rents and the same being agreed
to be accepted in payment of his Majesty's Quit
Rents by John Rutherford, Esqr. Receiver General
of his Majesty's Quit Rents His Excellency was
pleased to suspend the said James Murray and John
Rutherford Esqr as Members of his Majesty's Coun-
cil for this Province, and the said James Murray and
John Rutherford are accordingly suspended until his
Majesty's pleasure.be known." *

1 Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. v. p. 827.

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 91

In a memorial addressed to the " Lords Commis-
sioners for Trade and Plantations," praying for an
inquiry and for redress, Mr. Murray states that he
was " suspended from his seat ... by his Excel-
lency Governor Dobhs without being accused of or
being conscious to himself of having been guilty of
any crime or misdemeanor whatsoever." ^ The Lords
Commissioners sustained the Governor and recom-
mended to the Crown that the suspension of both
Rutherford and Murray be confirmed. Their recom-
mendation was based rather upon the general charges
of factious opposition contained in the Governor's
letter than upon the issue of the bills, as to which
as a sufficient ground for suspension they appear to
have entertained doubt. " We must beg leave to
submit to your Majesty," they reported, " whether
the Eeasons entred on the Council Journals,
grounded as it appears on Facts fully proved in
Council, might not alone be sufficient to justify such
suspensions and to induce your Majesty to confirm
them ; but if it be true, as Mr. Dobbs alledges in
his letter, . . . that these gentlemen have formed
parties in the Council and Assembly with design to
embarrass and oppose your Majesty's Prerogative
and to add to the Power of the Assembly, We are
humbly of opinion that it is necessary for the Peace
and good government of North Carolina, as well as
for the support of your Majesty's said Governor in his
administration, that they should be removed." ^

1 Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. v. p. 956.

2 Ihid., vol. V. p. 957.

92 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

The recommendation of the Lords Commissioners
bore date May 12, 1758. No further action ap-
pears to have been taken by the Crown in the matter
until 1763, when by order of his Majesty (George
III. since 1760) both Murray and Rutherford were
reinstated as has been abeady explained.

A few passages from Mr. Murray's letters will
serve to show how lightly the whole matter touched
him. To his brother John he wrote, in January,
1759 : —

"I can no longer delay my acknowledgments
for the most friendly & Zealous part you have
acted in my Affairs. I could wish indeed that you
had the same View of them that I have taken since
I have been untied from the World by the Loss
of the greatest Blessing, the greatest Comfort I had
in it.* You would then have saved a deal of Trouble
& vexation to your self & my good friend your
Father in Law. In my present Temper & Circum-
stances I had much rather be the private man mind-
ing my Farm & endeavouring to leave something
clear to my Family than be the Zealous Counsellor
strugliug against the Stream for Measures thought
right & hated or envied by those I contended for.
I cannot, indeed, say that my Zeal has been always
temper'd with that meekness and Prudence which
ought to be the Cardinal Virtues of a man in public
Life."

And to John Murray of Phihphaugh in 1760 : —

' This letter was written after the death of Mrs. Murray.

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A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 93

Boston, August 6th, 1760.
... I find by all hands you continue to be the
same Zealous Patron of your Friends that Phihp-
haugh used to be. I am sorry, however, you should
have had so much solicitation on my account by
Reason of Govr. Dobb's Suspension. That gentle-
man by the extraordinary efforts of his power in
more Suspensions and Removals &c. &c. has done
all that in him lies to establish properly his own
Character and that of his opponents. The seven
votes and addresses which have lately passed almost
unanimously in his Genl. Assembly will probably
appear in your public papers and show in what
Ught he stands here. As I have taken no part in
these Squables he has nothing new to charge me
with, and I hope it will not be in his power for the
former score to keep me out of the list in the next
Commission. This is the more material as I am now
the first, by the death of the late President. . . .

In a letter of 1761 he said to his brother : —
" As to the politicks of our province, it is some
time since you knew my Sentiments of them and
the httle desire I had to be again engaged in them,
so little that I would not trouble my Friends with
a Justification of my Conduct, which you hinted
to be necessary. They, I knew, did me Justice in
their own Opinion. And there was no room to ex-
pect it, let me say whatever I could, from a board
which had condemned me unheard, upon no heavy
charge. From the apparent partiahty and Credidity

94 JAMES MUREAY, LOYALIST

of the first Commissioner, the Dominus factotum, to
my Opponent I imagined it in vain to make my
personal appearance at home, altho I could have
been weU supported with money. Mr. Rutherfurd's
tedious attendance, successful though it may be in
the end, is sufficient to deter every man of less pa-
tience and Assiduity than himself, that is about 99
in 100. Could I have foreseen the change in the
ministry, encouraged by the prospect I should have
been ambitious enough to have accepted of your
Invitation and of the support that was offered me.
Now I believe it too late. From this you perceive
that I have seen your Letter of the 7th June, 1760,
to my Sister, which overtook me in my way South-
ward at Philadelphia ; and on my return home I
met with your long and distinct letter to me of the
15th December, 1759, giving the whole process of
Mr. Rutherfurd's affairs and mine at the boards.
This afforded great satisfaction, not only to me but
to aU our Friends to whom it was proper to show it,
which were the fewer, that the old Gentleman our
Governor might not be further exasperated."

In the letter of March 3, 1755, to John Ruther-
ford, Mr. Murray referred to his wife's constant
good health. A wet and sickly season in the sum-
mer of 1757, however, brought on a low fever, which
was partly checked by change of air only to come
back in full force with the autumn. Her illness
continued with alarming symptoms through the win-
ter until, on the 19th of February, she died. Her
infant daughter survived her only a fortnight, and

A PIONEEK PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 95

the death of httle Jean, a child of engaging quah-
ties, followed hard upon.

The letters of this period speak for themselves.

JAMBS MURRAY TO DOROTHY MURRAY.

Cape Fear, March 21, 1758.

My dear Dolly/ — Your Letter to your Mama
of the 20*'' Feb came to my hand a few days since
with the worked chair, both of which would have
given her great pleasure, but she is gone to enjoy
pleasures infinitely greater. This Loss, both you
& I have Reason to thank God, will be weU made
up to you in an Aunt whose Affection has been
always more hke a Mamas than an aunt's ; and as
to the two younger Children, if they Survive, 't is
probable I may get them toUerably well taken care
of 'till you come up to be a Mother to them. If
you answer my expectations, you may rest assured I
shall be as good a father as you can desire. Such
a one the Children of the best of Wives deserves,
and shall glory in denying my self the enjoyments
of a world I am shortly to leave in purpose that
you may the better enjoy a world you are soon to
come into. Have therefore no anxiety or Suspicion
about my Conduct, but be careful of your own.
You have a good example before you. Be constant
in your prayers to God & in Endeavours to imitate
it. It is my purpose, if it is agreeable to your Uncle
& Aunt, to continue you where you are till the Au-

^ Dorothy was with Mr. Murray's sister Elizabeth in Boston.

96 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

tumn 1760, unless they come hither in the time &
then you can return with them.

If my Sister thinks proper all or part of your
Mama's Cloaths shall he sent for you. May God
direct & preserve you for a Comfort to a father who
at present is desolate enough.

Your affectionate J M

March 23. Your Sister Jeany dead

JAMES MURKAY TO MES. BBNNET.

Cape Feak, March 25", 1758.

Dear Madam, — ... The Waters continued on
our low grounds part of July & August with Uttle
Intervals, and at going off in September the Vapours
from the Swamps made the Inhabitants near the
low Grounds very sickly. Hence M""^ Murray's and
my Daughter Jeany's sickness begun. We went to
the Sound near the Sea in October, & they recovered
so fast that she was impatient to be home that I
might be disengaged to look after my business ; but
no sooner came we home than she relapsed into her
intermittent fevers, attended with Swellings. We
went back to the Sound in Nov', but not with equal
benefit. ... At length on the 17"" of February M"
Murray was deliverd of a Daughter in the 8*''
Month, and died on the 19"". The young child
lived only a fortnight after her, and Jeany died on
the 23'* of this Month. I am

Your dutiful & Affect* Son

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 97

JAMES MUKBAT TO JEAN AND ANNE BENNET.

March 27" 1758.

D" Sisters, — I must refer you for what con-
cerns you here to my letter to your Mamma of the
25'^ The tale is not easy to be repeated. I did
not imagine any thing in this world or the Loss of
all of it would have sit so heavy on my Spirits. In
this Distress the following home spun Lines have
been some hours amusement. I know I have no
turn for what they aim at, but when I meet with
any thing of that sort not unworthy of the Subject
I have a very good Marble Slab on which to cut
them. I have saved some of your Sister's Hair,
which I shall send with my Crop in the fall if I
make any for Rings to you both & Mamma.

You may depend on my making a good Father
to both my poor Children. . . . Dolly I intend
shall stay with her Aunt for a year or two, & Bettzy
must be my little Comfort here if it pleases God to
spare her. I am D' Sisters

Your Affectionate Bro""

February the 19", 1768.
At Point Repose
Humbly Confiding
In the Approbation of Almighty God

Of a Life well spent
In the prudent and pious Discharge

Of Every Duty incumbent
A Soul departed the Earth
And for herself now careth not
How or by whom she be here remembered

But her Friends
Who in her Life were happy, in her Death are desolate

Here plant this in Fears.

JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

But why Lament ? since a few minutes more
" Will set us off this Transitory Scene
" In Joy Serene for ever to remain
With this Meek Friend whom we deplore.

JAMES MUBEAT TO BAEBAEA CLAEK.

Cape Feae, April 1", 17S8.

SisTEB Clark, — ... thus it has pleased God
in a very Short time to make a wide breach in my
Family. May I learn from it to be more resign'd
& to be faithful & Diligent in my part while I am
left behind. . . .

As to advice about your moving & the Children's
Education & putting them to business, I am greatly
at a Loss. Were it not for the uncertainty of the
Times I should be glad to have you here with
Tommy, since he inclines to be a planter. It will
disappoint my Hopes to see him something of more
importance than a meer Planter, but since it has
pleased God to disable me to prosecute that Scheme
as I intended and to reduce me to this Solitary Con-
dition, his being here will be a present ease & help
to me without, and your care will be no less neces-
sary within doors, for I do not propose to take Dolly
from her Aunt at Boston these two years. Jacky
cannot be placed better than with his Uncle John
to be brought up in his way, but his Education
must be finished so as to make him fit for the busi-
ness either there or thereabout if you come away.
I have no Objections to James's being a Merchant,
only let him be with one that is realy such and who
is exact and regular in Method, and this on as easy

A PIONEEK PLANTEE IN ISfORTS CAKOLmA 99

Terms as may be. I suppose you'll bring Anny
with you. I still think she ought to be bred under
her Aunt at Boston, tho' I have heard nothing in
approbation of what I formerly proposed about that
either from you or them. If it should succeed, she
must stay till Dolly comes away, that we may not
be too burdensome.

You are not to construe any thing in this as a
Desire, and much less as peremptory Directions, for
your coming out. I submit the whole intirely to
your own Judgment and Inclination. If you find
Continuing at home wiU be more agreeable to you
and more for the benefit of the Children, stay in
God's name. The Difference of Expence in one
way or the other will be inconsiderable to me. I
hope, if Fortune does not persist in persecuting me,
stiU to be able to continue your 60£ a year, if that
will do. But Times must Mend considerably before
I can pay up the arrears or enlarge the allowance,
as I am sensible it ought to be according as your
Children grow up. And it is likely Bro' John's
Circumstances are so narrow & his own Family so
large that he can give no Assistance, to which his
generous Heart would readily prompt him were he
able.

Miss Bell M°Neil has been with me since your
Sister died & takes great care of the House &
Bettzy, who seems at present to thrive, but so did
the rest at her age. . . .

100 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

DOROTHY MURRAY TO JAMES MURRAY.

Boston, June 24th, 1758.

Honoured Father, — I received your most affec-
tionate letter which brought the melencholly news
of my Dear Mammas death. It greaves me very
much ... I have an Aunt that has always been
like a mother to me which I am very thankfull for,
notwithstanding the loss of so Dear and Tender a
mamma is very great to me, but Gods will must be
done. I hope He will enable me to submit as be-
comes one who has been brought up as I have. You
my Dear Papa meet with great afflictions ; how mov-
ing your letter. The death of my two Sisters so
soon after my Mamma must increase your grief tho'
small in comparison to the first, yet to so tender and
good a Father it is melencholly. You bid me have
no anxiety or suspicion about your conduct. No my
Papa, far be it from me to suspect you in anything
that would not be to my advantage. I am very anx-
ious about your health. I hope you will do every-
thing to contribute to it and pray keep up your
spirits. I shall endevour with the assistance of my
Aunt to be qualified as you direct, and hope with
your good advice from time to time to answer your
expectations in every particular. I am determined
to do everything in my power that she thinks will
be agreeable to you.

May God Almighty of his Infinite Goodness, Bless
and preserve My Dear Papa for a director to his
helpless babes — helpless indeed without your pater-
nal care. I hope we shall have gratitude enough

A PIONEER PLANTER IN NORTH CAROLINA 101

to acknowledge your goodness to the last moment
o£ our lives. Even after this mortal state that we
meet never to part and give thanks that we bad so
good a Father and Mother, is the sincere prayer of
Your most dutifull Daughter

Dorothy Murray.

P. S. — Give my love to my dear little Sister
Betzy. I have sent her a doll and a few other things
which I hope she will Hke. Please offer my compli-
ments to Mis McNel and I am very glad she is with
you. Adieu.

To Dr. John Murray, who had for some years
been married to Mary Boyle, daughter of Valen-
tine Boyle, Collector of Customs, and was settled
ashore ^ in the practice of his profession, Mr. Murray
wrote in January, 1759 : —

" I congratulate you on your Numerous family, &
rejoice to hear how happy a man my Sister Makes
you. If your Roses are mix'd with thorns, there 's
no other cure for that in my Dispensatory than Re-
signation. Every part of your Letter engages my
affection, but that the most where you undertake to
be a parent to my Girls in case they are deprived of
their solitary surviving one. I do not flatter my
self with living to take care of some of your Bairns ;

' Dr. John Murray served for many years as a surgeon in His
Majesty's navy, but having received his diploma from Edinburgh,
retired from service on half pay, and in 1751 settled at Wells in
Norfolk, where he practiced as a physician until 1768, when he
removed to Norwich. See Appendix.

102 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

but if I do, it win be as mucb in my power, & no
less in my Inclination, if they are willing to become
Americans, a Country which in their day will in all
probability be a very flourishing one, & the new
Acquisitions toward the Mississippi the most. Let
me not by anything said alarm you for my health or
chearfulness. My Health has been better of late
than it used to be in the Winter season, & if I have
little Comfort I have little care. My House is almost
finished & paid for at a very easy rate, considering
the Strength, Beauty & Conveniency of the build-
ing. The money & Labour expended on it, or a
great part of them, would probably have been sunk
otherwise without such a desirable Monument of the
Expence. 'T is true the House is by much too grand
& splendid for me, considering how my Family &
Prospects are reduced, & yet I do not repent the
undertaking. If my Daughter does not like it or
has no use for it, it will sell better in her day than
mine, and in the mean time a Corner of it will afPord
me a warm & comfortable Retirement. I am not
out of humour with the Country as you imagine. I
am perswaded I have my health better here than I
could have any where else, and my Improvements are
amusements to my taste no other place could afPord.
As to the people, they are neither better or worse in
gross than those of other Countries : that I have not
been a greater favourite with them is more my own
fault than theirs."

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CHAPTER in

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY
1749-1773

When James Murray returned to America in
1749, accompanied by his wife, his young daughter
Dorothy, and his sister Elizabeth, their ship, per-
haps owing to stress of weather, put in at Boston.
Elizabeth had provided herself with a stock of mil-
linery and dry goods, and had, apparently, contem-
plated engaging in trade in North CaroKna. It may
be that her Scottish shrewdness recognized the
superior advantages which Boston offered for her
undertaking. Be this as it may, she remained in
the New England town, and, aided by her brother's
advice and credit with the London merchants,
launched forth upon a modest but successful busi-
ness career. Boston thus became a second home
for the Murrays in America.

Her business affairs, as a rule, ran smoothly. One
exception she notes in 1755 as follows : —

" I have got myself a little involved at present
but am in hopes of getting Clear of it soon. There
was one Edmund Quincy and sons, very considerable
merchants and reckoned to be worth one hundred
thousand pound, took it into their heads to draw

104 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

bills, and sold a number of them to very cautious
people in this town. Then they were bound for
Fletcher to WiUiain Vassall for fifteen hundred
pound sterling. Fletcher ran away, then Vassall
demanded the money of them, so they shut up be-
fore the bills they had drawn came back. I had
L. 110 came about three weeks ago, and I put it into
a Lawyer's hands directly, who tells me I am secure.
I had another of L. 45 of them that is not come
yet ; so soon as it does I believe I shall have the
money for both. I am determined for the future
to buy no bills but from Col. Koyall who promises
to supply me."

Elizabeth's first abode in Boston was on King
Street, with Mrs. Barker, a motherly woman whose
sisters and daughters became valued friends of the
Murray family. Near by, also on King Street, were
the Mackays, eventually to be near connections ;
and in time other acquaintances added themselves
to these. So attractive, indeed, were Elizabeth's
surroundings that Mrs. Murray, who, after her hus-
band's departure for Cape Fear, remained for a while
in what he called " that poor healthy place, New
England," was unwilling to depart for North Caro-
lina even after the birth of her second child, the
event which had originally detained her. Appar-
ently she was really loath to go to the warmer
climate, which was one day to cost her her life.
When she did at last rejoin her husband, she gladly
sent Dorothy back to Elizabeth, realizing well the
advantages which the northern town could give.

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 105

As with one exception the other children born to
James Murray sickened and died in the south, there
is reason to believe that Dorothy Murray owed her
preservation to her aunt's devotion and to New
England air.

In 1755 Elizabeth married Thomas Campbell, a
Scotch merchant and trader, whose enterprises car-
ried him back and forth between Boston and Cape
Fear. James wrote concerning the event to Dr.
John Murray, settled at WeUs : —

" Dolly's being with her Aunt at Boston wiU cer-
tainly be no News to you, nor Betzy's Marriage to
Tho° Campbell,^ son of James Campbell, whom you
may remember a housekeeper in Wilmington. Betzy
askd my Approbation of this Match in due form,
which I gave, not doubting of her having accepted
of the best that offer'd & considering she had not
much time to wait for further Choice.^ Beside my
complaisance to her, to whom I have never had Oc-
casion to refuse any thing, the young Man's Sobri-
ety, Industry & Integrity were Recommendations
not always to be met with in this part of the world.
He is coming hither in a Vessel he charters to load
with tar. Having been bred to the Sea, he has had
the command of several small vessels from this Port.
For further particulars I must refer you to Time &
the new Couple."

On the 14th of March, 1756, another daughter

1 In another letter Mr. Murray describes him as " nephew to one
of the Professors at St. Andrews."

2 Mr. Murray had not the gift of second sight to foresee his sis-
ter's matrimonial future.

106 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

was born in Wilmington or at Point Repose. This
was Elizabeth^ the only child besides Dorothy who
was destined to survive. Dorothy was by this time
with Mrs. Campbell in Boston and already deep in
the affections of her aunt, who never possessed a
child of her own on whom to expend the wealth of
her warm heart.

ELIZABETH MURRAY TO JAMES MURRAY.

Boston, May 12, 1756.

... I am obUged to you for the honour you do
me in naming your daughter Elizabeth. I take it
wholly to myself, notwithstanding I do not imagine
I shall like her half so well as my Doll, who is well
and fond of writing and drawing, as little sewing as
you please. I shall get a book according to your
desire and mind her reading. She hopes you or my
sister will write to her. . . .

General Winslow set out yesterday with eight
thousand men for Crown Point. He says he never
will return unless he succeeds. His courage and
good conduct induces every one to believe he will.
I had a letter from Brother John about ten days
ago. All friends are well. I neglected writing to
them after the earthquake which I am sorry for as
they seem to be uneasy about me.

The business which Elizabeth Campbell had built
up for herself was not abandoned upon her marriage.
Aided now by the experience of her husband, she
still continued to receive goods from London and to

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 107

sell them at her Boston store. This, as it proved,
was a prudent course, for Mr. Campbell's life was
short. In a very few years he died, leaving her not,
indeed, without means of support, but glad of the
additional income furnished by her own exertions.
She had, however, health, comparative youth, and
friends. Moreover, her large heart and sunny tem-
per gave her a winning personality. She was, as her
brother said, " vastly beloved for her frankness and
continual endeavors to do good offices."

A comfortable prosperous figm-e in Boston at that
time was Mr. James Smith, sugar baker, whose re-
finery had been in working since 1729 or before, —
Elizabeth Murray's whole lifetime, practically, —
and who had amassed wealth as well as years. His
house on Queen Street, — Court Street now, — was
central in position, surrounded by other residences
of its kind, yet conveniently near the sugar house,
which stood on Brattle Street, between the old church
and what was known as Wing's Lane. At the same
time it was not far from King's Chapel. As one of
the churchwardens of King's Chapel and a generous
contributor to its needs, Mr. Smith stood high in the
esteem of his fellow-townsmen, and the few allusions
to him in the records and traditions of his day in-
dicate that he was no less a genial friend than an
open-handed citizen.

It was he who imported the old Dutch elms once
so prized in Boston. The story goes that Mr. Smith,
being in London, was struck by the beauty of the
elms in Brompton Park, and procuring some young

103 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

trees of the same kind had them planted in his
nursery on his beautiful farm, Brush Hill, in Milton.
The fame of these trees spreading, one of his friends,
Mr. Gilbert Deblois, asked for some, saying that he
would in return name his new-born son for Mr.
Smith. The bargain was struck, and James Smith
Deblois, baptized May 16, 1769, bore witness to its
fulfillment. A second friend. Judge Auchmuty,
made Mr. Smith a similar offer, and received a sup-
ply of the trees. The Dutch ^lms standing in front
of the Unitarian meeting-house at Milton, planted
there at a later date by Mr. Murray's son-in-law,
Edward Hutchinson Robbins, were of the Brush
Hill stock, and so were many others now vanished ;
but those received by Mr. Gilbert Deblois became
the most celebrated. These were set out in front of
the Granary, just opposite Mr. Deblois's house in
Tremont street.^ As Addino Paddock's shop win-
dow looked out upon them, Mr. Deblois enjoined
Mr. Paddock to have an eye to their safety; and
as Mr. Paddock twice had occasion to ofPer rewards
for the discovery of offenders who had injured the
trees his name came to be associated with them, and
they to be known as the Paddock Ehns. Boston
made a sturdy fight for them before they fell a prey
to advancing travel and traf&c.

What preliminary acquaintance Mr. Smith had
with Mrs. Campbell the letters do not say, but in
1760 they were married, and for the rest of his life
they lived happily together. " I can assure you,"

1 Mr. Deblois lived on the site of Horticultural Hall.

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 109

James Murray wrote to John in 1761, " they both
enjoy a happiness which is rarely met with in a
match o£ such disparity." Her brother rejoiced in
this marriage, which he declared placed her " in the
best circumstances of any of her sex in the town."
Prosperity for one member of the family meant help
for aU. Both James and Elizabeth had a thorough
regard for money, but they always wanted it that
they might use it for others.

JAMES MUBRAT TO JOHN MUEEAT OF PHILIPHAUGH.

Boston, Aug. 6, 1760.
... I left [Cape Fear] the end of June to visit
my Daughter and new married Sister here. This
last was married in March to Mr. James Smith,
Sugar baker in this town, an agreeable good natured
Gentleman of Seventy, a £.30,000 man, ten thou-
sand Ster. of which he has settled on Bettzy, beside
her own Fortune and the Life Kent of a valuable
farm. This sets her above the Cares of the World
and, what is vastly preferable, gives her those oppor-
tunities of doing good in which Philiphaugh and
many of his Relations delight.

At Mr. Smith's and her Request I am to entreat
the favor of you to provide him with a Sober young
Man for a Gardner who can perform also the Busi-
ness of a Coachman and groom. He wiU have a
negro man under him, whom he must instruct in
those Articles. He must be under Indenture or
Contract for three years. You may draw for his
passage on Messrs Bridgen and Waller, Merchants

110 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

in London, and may agree that there shall be paid
to him in gold or silver fifteen pounds Sterhng for
the first year and twenty pounds Sterling for the
two succeeding years and further that he shall be
free to return if he chuses at the expiration of one
year and his passage home shall be paid by Mr.
Smith, but he shall not be at hberty to leave his
Master or Mistress to go any where else in America.
He shall be provided in sufiicient Diet, Lodging,
and washing, and shall have a compleat Suit of
Livery to himself for occasions. He ought to be
here before March, Mr. Smith's Gardner being then
to leave him. I would not have presumed to give
you the trouble of this Commission were I not per-
suaded that it is giving you the Opportunity of
obliging some deserving Young Man with a very
good place in a healthy, plentiful Country under an
Indulgent Master and Mistress.

Her aunt's increased ease was shared by Dorothy.
Indeed, her father could not quite approve of the
" softness " of his daughter's education. He wrote
in August, 1760, to Anne and Jean Bennet : —

" Dolly, now as tall as her Aunt here, is employed
to copy this to show you her progress in writing.
The other Branches of her Education have not been
neglected, but you would not be pleased to see the
indolent way in which she and the young Ladies of
this place generally live. They do not get up even
in this fine Season till 8 or 9 o'clock. Breakfast is
over at ten, a httle reading or work until 12, dress

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 111

for dinner till 2, after noon in making or receiving
Visits or going about the Shops. Tea, Supper, and
chat closes the Day and their Eyes about 11. I
believe I do them great Justice in allowing that
they employ to some good purpose two hours of the
twenty four. If it is otherwise let your Niece set
you right, for she tells me that she is to write by
this Vessel." ^

His opinion of New England was changed.
" You cannot well imagine," he said, in this same
letter, " what a Land of health, plenty and content-
ment this is among all ranks, vastly improved within
these ten years. The war on this Continent has
been equally a blessing to the English Subjects and
a Calamity to the French, especially in the Northern
Colonies, for we have got nothing by it in Carolina.
I am almost tempted to wish that instead of broiling
and squabling about public affairs in Carolina I
had been set down quietly here, but as it has been
otherwise determined by the Supreme over-ruler of
all Events, I am satisfied. My Motto may be now
Uttle Comfort little Care. 1 formerly enjoyed more
of the pleasureable part of life, but never more
tranquility. The greatest anxiety I have had of
late was to leave my Estate among those to whom it
belongs clear of any Incumbrances."

Of his younger daughter he gives her aunts a
good account : —

" Your niece Bettzy continues to be a very thriv-
ing hopeful chUd, growing more and more like her
1 See Appendix.

112 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Mamma every day. If I find fortune and Eesolu-
tion enough, I propose to send her in two or three
years hence under your care. I think it but a piece
of Justice to commit to you that Uvely Remembrance
of your Dear Sister, and have nothing to dread but
for you, the care and anxiety she will give."

Betsy was not, however, sent to Scotland. Mrs.
Smith had for some time wished to take her name-
sake under her own care, and in 1761 the child
came to her house, to be thenceforth a close and dear
companion. At the same time Mrs. Clark's children,
particularly John and Annie, were anxiously con-
sidered. " As to our nephew Jacky Clark," Mr.
Murray wrote from Boston in July, 1761, to his bro-
ther John, "... there is the more reason to be
careful of his education as the other two boys have
been much neglected by bad Masters. Tommy,
however, is Hke to prove a good planter and has
from Nature the advantage of all his father's agree-
able modest behavior. . . . Anny, who is come
hither with my little daughter and me, is the best
English reader of the three, is very sensible, good
tempered, and agreeable. ... I arrived here . . .
with Intention to spend the hot months in this place
of health, plenty, and good Company. I intend to
carry Dolly with me to the Southward in Septr,
and to leave Anny Clark and Bettzy with their Aunt
tiU our Return next Summer."

Mrs. Mackay, previously spoken of as living on
King Street, had two daughters, Mrs. Gordon and
Mrs. Thompson, the latter the wife of Dr. Thomp-

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 113

son of Charleston, S. C, who was one of Mr. Mur-
ray's friends. Dr. Thompson died, and Mr. Murray,
who had done many kind offices for them both,
finally, at Mrs. Mackay's home in Boston, on the
30th of November, 1761, married Mrs. Thompson,
a step which proved to be a fortunate one for Mr.
Murray's daughters as well as for the two most con-
cerned.

To Dorothy, who, meanwhile, had been visiting
friends in New York, her father sent a few affec-
tionate Knes after the ceremony.

JAMES MURRAY TO DOROTHY MURRAY.

Boston, November 30th, 1761.

Dear Dolly, — Your Aunt has received your
letter of the 22d from York, and with me heartily
congratulates you on your new Relation, which we
hope wiU in a great measure make up for the late
loss you have sustained.

We are to sleep this night at Brush-hill, and from
thence along to-morrow as fast as we can. The
Ceremony has been over about an hour very pri-
vately, and we eat our St. Andrews dinner with
Mrs. Mackay. Remember me to Mr. Rutherford,
the Ladies, and Mr. Barker if he is still with you.
Your Aunt and Anny are so hurried they have no
time to write. In this instance and in every one of
my Ufe I hope to prove. Dear Dolly,

Your truly affectionate Father.

By April, 1762, schemes for Mr. Murray's re-

114 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

moval to Boston had taken deep hold on Mrs.
Smith's mind. Mr. Smith was withdrawing from
the sugar business ; she wished Mr. Murray to take
it up. Mr. Murray, however, while willingly assent-
ing to her plans, was in no haste to be off from his
plantation, which he really loved. He was, more-
over, soon afterward " reinstated." " I hope it will
not prevent his coming here," wrote Mrs. Smith to
Dorothy. " If it does, it will be grief to one whose
heart is bound up in him and his." But at last the
break was made. In 1765 Mr. and Mrs. Murray
removed to Boston, to cast in their lot with their
sister.

Mr. Murray already had warm friends in Boston
and felt himself in congenial surroundings. He
occupied Mr. Smith's house on the corner of Queen
Street, the Smiths reserving for themselves a certain
portion of it, though they resided at Brush Hill.
One of his friends was the Rev. John Hooper, rec-
tor of Trinity Church. Mr. Hooper's son, William,
had studied law in Boston, under James Otis, and
had begun the practice of his profession in Wilming-
ton before Mr. Murray left North CaroHna. The
young lawyer, as time went on, paid his addresses
to Annie Clark, who, it will be remembered, was
growing up under Mrs. Smith's care. For some
time his suit did not prosper. The Murrays, con-
servatively loyal to government, were made cau-
tious by the patriotic tendencies of James Otis's
pupil. Mr, Murray did not fail to give him candid
advice.

BITS OF FAMILT HISTORY 115

JAMES MUKEAT TO WILLIAM HOOPEK.

Boston, July 6th, 1766.
Dear Sir, — I am now embracing the first oppor-
tunity of acknowledging the Rec' of yours of the
7th May, a very agreeable Letter so far as you in-
sinuate that some of the good folks of our Province
have been pleased to think favorably of my Inten-
tions, which are aU or almost all I deserve any
Credit for. After a Service of near thirty years I
cannot say I have been able to do them any Essen-
tial Service, owing in a great measure to my trusting
too much to the Rectitude of my Intentions without
the Vehicle of address necessary to bring them into
Action in a Government such as ours. Agreeable
is your letter likewise, as it informs me of your Close
Application to Study and Business, in which I was
in great hopes of your Proficiency and success untiU
I saw the Stamp Act, which in the Execution will
cast such a damp upon the Utigious Spirits of your
province by draining their pockets as will greatly
abridge the practice of Law there and indeed
throughout America, especially in the poorer pro-
vinces, and leave bread only for a few of the pro-
fession. Whether you will be of the number is
doubted, as some conjecture you will be scared by
sickness or impelled by passion to come ofE, and
leave your Harvest in the Field. As to your love
affair which you hint at I refer you to your father,
who has read me part of his letter to you on the
subject in a manner perfectly agreeable to my own
sentiments.

116 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

I must own I regret your having had, through
my means, fuel for your flame so near you on your
own account, but much more for the other — for the
parties in that affair treat on very unequal terms.
The longer he waits the fitter he may be in every re-
spect for matrimony — not so with the other, and to
make it up directly would be certain ruin to both. . . .

I must refer you to other Letters for particulars
of your Friends here. I shall only hint a few.
Miller at Marleborough dying by inches and look-
ing death in the face with the Serenity of a Soc-
rates. Mr. Smith has had an iU turn lately, but
recruits fast; he is come to town to frolic. Your
Brother John is sick, George a Lad of great hopes.
Tommy idle because he was too high spirited to do
some servile Jobs at Amorys. The People in high
dudgeon here upon account of the late Acts, but
not so outrageous as some of the Southern Colonies.
Potash become a very valuable export. This pro-
vince, they say wiU ship a thousand tons this year,
value .£30 Sterling a ton and more.

My Wife, Daughter and Niece present their com-
pliments to you and will rejoice to hear of your
health and success as well as,
Dear Sir,

Your affectionate
Humble Servant.

At the death, in 1767, of the Eev. John Hooper,
and in obedience to his wishes, Mr. Murray assumed
a parental care of the family, which consisted of

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 117

Mrs. Hooper and the sons spoken of in the preced-
ing letter. WiUiam Hooper then married Annie
Clark, though stiU under the disapproval of her rel-
atives. Mr. Murray even went so far as to say :
*'This match Anny made for herself without her
brother's approbation. This young man is an attor-
ney at law in North Carolina whither he went under
my patronage and where he may do well i£ he has
prudence, which is doubted." That prudence
which was doubted was the wisdom to keep on the
King's side. In view of the success of the man
and of the marriage the comment has a piquant in-
terest.

Dorothy also had, by this time, grown to matu-
rity. She was a lively fascinating young creature,
a great favorite with all who knew her, especially,
say the family traditions, with one of her cousins.
Rather against the protests of her friends, who
could not bear the thought of her going so far away
from them, she accepted the hand of the Eev. John
Forbes, a clergyman then settled at St. Augustine,
and their marriage followed in 1769.

It was with heavy hearts that Dorothy Forbes's
father and aunt saw her set off for Florida. Mrs.
Smith was, in fact, made almost iU by the loss of the
niece who was so dear to her.

" Words cannot express nor pen write what I
have suffered and am Hke to suffer by parting with
you," says her letter of June 22, 1769. « I dwell
much on a promise Mr. Forbes made me. It was
that he would make a visit here soon. It often

118 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

rouses my drooping spirits and makes me wish to
live to see you tappy in each other. Whenever I
have thought of your setthng in the world, it has
been the height of my ambition to have you near
me. It is ordered otherwise and I must submit."

As a means of distraction she paid a visit to her
friend Mrs. Barnes ^ in Marlborough, a correspond-
ent whose hvely pen must be allowed to contribute
its share to our knowledge of the family doings.
Her letter, which gives a picture of the mode of
visiting and of traveHng at that time, when the
chariot or single horse chaise or riding double were
the means of conveyance from one country house to
another, is as follows : —

MKS. BARNES TO DOKOTHY FORBES.

Marlborough, June 11", 1769. '
... I have rambled down one side of my Paper
without thinking what Subject to enter upon. I
know of none that will be more agreeable to you
then an account of your Aunt & her family. I am
very well quaHfied for the undertaking, haveing had
the happiness to injoy her Company for this Month
past. One half of the time we spent at Brush Hill
and the other at Marlborough. Her Health (She
says) is better then when you left her. You know
she never complains, but if one may judge by her
countenance She is far from being well. Her
jurney to Marlborough was with a Veiw to her
Health, but She suffer'd so much fetegue both in

• Wife of Henry Barnes.

DOROTHY MURRAY

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 119

coming & going that I fear she received but Kttle
Benifit. There is a strange fataUty attends all her
undertakings. As a profe of it I wiU endeavor to
give you some accoimt of our jurney. We sat out
from M' Inman's early in the Morning, M' & M"
Smith in the Chariot which she had converted into
a Post Chaise, Miss Murray & my Self in our Post
Chaise, Tom & Bill for attendents, accompanied by
M' Spence & his Wife. We all arrived in very
good season to Dinner at Baldwins, but it is out of
my Power to give you any description of the Dif&-
cultys we underwent in the last fifteen Miles. I
shall only say that some of us arrived at 10 o'clock,
some at 12 and the Last (which you may be siu-e
was your Aunt) came in at Two in the Morning.
However, we none of us received any injury from
the jurney, and after M' Spence & his Wife left us,
Your Aunt & I injoy'd a Week together with Httle
or no interuption, at the end of which we were
favor'd with a Visit from the two M" Beltchers,
who staid with us a Week. I beleive your Aunt
would not have left us so soon if we could have
made M"" Smith Eassy, but that was impossible. I
could not help joining in Miss Cumingses Prayer
and heartily wish'd the good Man in Heaven, for
thither he is bound, tho I think he makes but a Slow
progress on his jurney. To close the whole of this
account, when the Day was fix'd for their departiure
your Aunt went off in the Morning Mounted upon
a Single Horse, with out taking leave of any Body,
and rode Twenty MUe fasting without once dis-

120 JAMES MUKRAY, LOYALIST

mounting. They reach'd Home the same night,
and Your Aunt writes me word that she received
no manner of inconvenency from Her jurney, but is
in very good Health & Spirits.

Mr. Smith's long life, cheered to the last by his
wife's affectionate care, came to an end on the 4th of
August, 1769.* Much worn by protracted nursing,
Mrs. Smith, taking Elizabeth with her, now went
to Scotland for change of scene. It was at this time
that Brush Hill passed into Murray hands, for, be-
fore leaving home, Mrs. Smith made over to her bro-
ther James, in trust for Dorothy and Elizabeth, the
Milton farm. Mr. Murray, with much content, estab-
lished himself there, hoping to " run off the dregs of
his days " in peace. Of the farm he had some years
before given his brother a graphic description. It
had, he said, " a good house, well furnished, good
Gardens and Orchards,. Meadows and pasturage in
300 acres." Then, continuing, he added, " A rivu-
let washes it, and by several windings loses itself
between two bushy hiUs before it runs into the
great bay. Of this bay, often covered with sails,
and of the Light house there is a fair prospect from
the house, which stands on an eminence and over-
looks also a pleasant Country round. It is in short
one of the pleasantest and most convenient seats I
see in the Country."

^ " He was ' buried from his own house at ye corner of Queen St.,'
says an interleaved almanac of that year." Drake's Hist, of Bost.,
p. 767.

•i.KiJ^iT't^ i' 'I'M r

BITS OF PAMILT HISTOKT 121

Mrs. Murray -was frequently at the farm, but she
loved the city. " Mrs. Murray continues to move in
the gay world," wrote one of her acquaintances,
" with the same spirits as i£ she was but fiveteen,
and is distressed to death for fear there should be
no assembly this winter. She roals in her chariot,
for you know she's mistress of one, and makes visits
to aU the great folks."

A correspondence between Mrs. Barnes and Mrs.
Smith carries on our story.

MRS. BAKNES TO ELIZABETH SMITH.

Oct. 14, 1769.

... It is a Mellencholy reflection that before
this reaches you we should be separated above three
Thousand miles and that while I am now writing
you are tossing upon the merciless Ocean, sick and
not able to hold up your head . . . But I must
once more return to myself and to the Fatal Hour
that parted us. Did you see nothing in my counte-
nance that discovered my inward anguish, or have I
(by coppeing your example) obtained some degree of
Fortitude ? My Passion struggled for a Vent, tho
I only showed the concern of a common acquaint-
ance. 'T is true I did not Dare to Approach you
for fear my emotions should burst out into some
indecencys, and yet notwithstanding my caution it
was reported that I took you in my arms and
screem'd violently. You know whence this mis-
take proceeded ; the Lady and I were both dressed
in Black, and, being pretty much of a size, the

122 JAMES MURKAT, LOYALIST

standers by were deceived. I must confess her be-
havior shocked me, nor had I the least inclination
to follow her example, tho I earnestly wished for a
Parting Kiss had the time and place been proper.
. . . Since I have mentioned Mr. Eowe give me
leave to ask you if you was not extremely Pleased
with his Polite behaviour upon the Warfe? . . .
And pray did you observe another gentleman who
look'd as if he would have given his eyes for a
tender farewell ? But to Mr. Rowe you gave your
hand, and to Mrs. Murray your lips, while we at
Humble distance stood motionless with Wonder and
surprise.

Nov. 20th, 1769.

Last Thursday, which was Thanksgiving Day, a
Ball was given by Mrs. Murray at Brush Hill to a
number of gentlemen and Ladys from Boston. Miss
E. Cumings was one of the Party. Their goods and
ours are arrived in very good order, which has
caused a Comity from the Well Disposed to wait
upon them and write to Mr. Barnes with a desire
that the goods may be Stored tiU further orders.
. . . Those daring Sons of Liberty are now at the
tip-top of their Power and . . . even to Speak dis-
respectfully of the Well Disposed is a Crime equal
to high Treason. . . . When the deluded multitude
finds they have been led astray by false maxims they
may Possibly turn upon them with their own wep-
ons. . . . This is my Private opinion, but how I
came to give it is a Mistry, for Politicks is a puddle
I never choose to dabble in.

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 123

Dec. 23, 1769.

Oh how I long to have one political Laugh with
you ! Would you not be diverted to see Squire
Barnes and the two little Miss Cumingses Posted
together in a News Paper as Enimys to their coun-
try ? Do, Bless you, send us a Httle Dash of Poli-
ticks from tother side the water that we may see
something that has the appearance of Truth, for our
Well Disposed import such a vast quantity of lies
with their other Articles that they begin to find a
dif&culty in vending them.

Feby the 9, 1770.

... I was yesterday thrown into the most Vio-
lent agitation by a Letter I received from Mr.
Ezekial Goldthwait with a packit enclosed, which
he informed [me] was from you. ... I . . .
eagerly stepped aside to open it, in full faith I
should find your miniture Picture inclosed. ... I
easily got over my disappointment on that Score
when I found you had been arrived so Short a
Time, but I own not receiving the Journal put me
out of all Patience. How could you be so intol-
erable careless, — go trust a thing to that conse-
quence upon the River; and then the four blank
pages in your Letter, how can you answer that ? . . .

But before I proceed any further in my resent-
ment let me consider a Httle . . . Next letter I
shall have Twenty thousand Opologys to make for
writing in the manner I have done. At present I
shall only beg that if you discover any Petulance in

124 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

what I have wrote you would ascribe it to my great
warmth of affection. . . .

Only the following fragments of the journal
referred to by Mrs. Barnes have been preserved,
but these fragments, fortunately, carry us back to
Unthank and Chesters.

Oct. 14th, 1769. I think myself sound in mind
but very infirm in body. I am black and blue spots
with tossing about the cabin. The poor Boscowen
has had the wind ahead since Monday and a very
high sea to struggle against. Betsy has been very
sick and never had on her clothes till yesterday, when
I obhged her to go on deck, where she had not been
haK an hour before she said she was dying. If you
had seen her you would have thought so. The Cap-
tain took her in his arms and brought her down ;
she lay some time quite stupid. I poured some
orange juice in her mouth, and she seemed to revive
with the help of a little preserved ginger. In less
than an hour she was able to eat some roast duck.

October 23rd. Our cheerfulness was of short
duration. At six o'clock the wind blew like guns ;
the dead lights were put up and the gallery doors
and windows taken down and dead lights put in
their places. The sails were hauled and the vessel
laid to.

October 24. We have had candles aU day. Be-
fore four this morning the wind shifted and laid the
Boscowen so much upon her side that she lay quite

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 125

still and alarmed aU hands on deck. Others ran up
in a moment, pulled the sails down and got her to
rights. Tell Miss Caty she must not go to sea until
she is more reconciled to death.

November 5th. I am set upon the highest part
of the quarter deck to teU you how I feel on the
near approach of the land of my nativity. You
were afraid Betts would work too much ; she has
done nothing but make her black petticoat. BiU
and she seem in raptures at the thought of going
ashore.

November 6th. We saw the Lizard yesterday
afternoon at four o'clock. Fine wind and clear day.

November 7. We have had a terrible night.
After getting in sight of the Hght house at Dunge-
ness they were obUged to lay to, and as there was no
prospect of the wind altering the Captain thought
it not safe to put into Portsmouth. We set foot on
land at half after ten o'clock, came to the tavern
where we ate beefsteak and oysters for supper.

Hampton Court, Nov. 14:th. We set out from
Portsmouth on Sunday with three post chariots. In
the foremost went Mentor * and ApoUo (a nickname
for another gentleman on board) with powder, shot,
pistols and guns, expecting highwaymen. In the
next EUzabeth and myself, and in the third the ser-
vants. We were agreeably disappointed that we
had no occasion for Apollo's courage and met with
nothing on the way that was entertaining. Bad
roads, good taverns and provisions everywhere.
1 Samuel Danforth of Cambridge.

126 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

During the winter, or for a portion of it, the trav-
elers were at Dr. John Murray's in Norwich. In
July they visited Scotland. The journal, after a
lapse, continues : —

Chesters, July ye ig", 1770.

I wrote to you Wednesday the 11 instant. We
set out at Eleven o'Clock, got to Linn that night,
had very fine weather & roads. On thursday at
noon we arrived at Peterborough, viewed the Ca-
thedral & the place where Queen Mary was buried.
. . . Friday noon we called on Mr. Harrison. He
was not come from London. We invited them to
Scotland. Slept at York. In the morning viewed
the Cathedral where we saw many curiositys. Yor-
ick's great grandfather is there. I wished he had left
me a legacy. From that we went to the Assembly

room then to Breakfast. Slept at dined at

Perth, had fresh horses at Carlisle, came over the
river Esk at 6 o'clock. This river divides England
and Scotland. Here I had a Quahn come over me.
My cousin observed it. He quited his EngUsh &
talk'd Scot's in a very droll manner. We Slept at
Langham, which was only 6 miles from Unthank
where I was born. I asked the landlord many
questions. I left that Country at six years old, but
remembered names of places, and people ; bid the
driver stop and tell me when we came to them.
Unthank I viewed, and the little rivulet where my
Bro' Will and I learnt our horn book.

When I came to the Dewslees I thought of my

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 127

first frind that I used to Weed the Water to see.
She died at seven years old. I called in at a Sister
of hers who was my brother's first love. This Scene
was moving. I bid her look at me. She did so
some time. Said she did not know me. I asked her
if she remembered Bennee Ateheson. " Yes," says
she, " that was my sister. I beg you 'U tell me who
you are." I said, "Betty Murray." She then Claspt
me in her arms & cry'd most heartily ; led me to a
chair saying, " My dear I 'm glad to See you. Ex-
cuse my behaviour, but our fathers & mothers.
A sight of you brings many things to my mind.
Where is your Brothers & Sister. Who is that
with you ? Step down to the road, my son, and ask
them to Breakfast." I told her who they were, and
ran out of the house. As we proposed to dine at
Chesters we were in a hurry. I promised to spend
some time with her this summer.

Next stage was Hawick. Langham WoUy drove
to the house we used to live in. Here my mother
died. I run over the house & remembered the room
where I saw her a corps. While Breakfast was
geting ready my cousin. Bets, & I went to the Kirk
yeard where we saw the man that dug the grave.
We walked about half an hour in that MelanchoUy
place. Before we had done Breakfast I was called
out to an old woman. " Pardon me," says she, " but
the Saxton told me one of Mrs. Murray's daughters
was in town. Are ye Mrs. Baby ? " ^ " No, I 'm
Betty." She then flew to me. " My dear Betty,

1 Barbara.

128 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

monne night ha ye lain in my arms in Suck in that
room. Come up & I '11 shew it to you." This "wo-
man told me of many of my school fellows and of
our Mrs. .

At twelve we set out and arrived at Chesters Mon-
day, ye 16"" July, before two. My aunt^ met us in
the Avenue, let Betts & I into the house & Said,
" This is a day I have longed to see." She was
more moved than I was. Jeany^ was called. She
entered to appearance unmoved, & continued in the
Same way until the evening. She then was relieved
by a flood of tears. It gives me pleasure to see her

cry. She is strangely afPected. Anny is at the

Beathing for the Rhumatism. They wrote to her
that we would be here in a fortnight, that is the
time she is ordered by the doctors to stay. On
tuesday morne Tempenden & cousin Nanny came to
See us. His lady had on blisters & was afraid of
catching cold, beg'd we wou'd dine there. [Ap-
parently the invitation was accepted.]

My Aunt & I in the chaise, Jeany & Uncle single,
Betts behind her uncle Douglas. We spent an
agreable day. . . . They returned the visit. My
aunt & I left then in the afternoon and r'd to Stand
Hill to See CoU. Trombull's widow and Aunt Sten-
house who was sick. Thursday Mr. Scott came to
see us. Friday Auntie Stenhouse & Miss Stewart
spent the day & slept here. Betts and Uncle Ben-
nett dined at Tempenden Saturday. Mrs. Douglass

• The mother of James Murray's first wife.
^ Jean Bennet.

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 129

is to come over for me to go to Jedburrough kirk
the morn. I wont go. HI go to Ancrum with my
aunt.

Before I set out from Norwich I said you would
like to be of the party, but I thought otherwise on
the journey, for our post boys drove so furiously up
hill and down that I often said to Betts, " This would
not do for Mrs. Barnes." Now I wish for you. I
am certain you would be delighted with this coun-
try and the reception you would meet with. This
place and family is so natural to me it seems as if I
had not been gone a year. My Aunt and Bob ^ has
made great improvements, but all on my Uncle's
plan. Tom Sword, my Uncle's waiting man, is
eighty years old, hves in a house at the foot of the
Avenue. His daughter Baby takes care of him
under my Aunt's direction. He tells me many old
storys that are very pleasing, crys over Betts, says,
" 0, my Bairn, how good your Mother was, gentle
and simple, all loved her. I have seen 5 Lairds
here."

Teviot parts this estate and Mr. Douglasses, and
Stand-hill joins on the other side. Judge how agree-
ably we are situated. A fine season and the best
crops that has been in this country for some time.

Chesters, Friday morn, July 27th.

Saturday Mrs. Stenhouse, Miss Stewart, Mr. Turn-
bull, Mr. & Mrs. Douglass and Mr. Elliot dined
here. Sunday went to Ancrimi kirk. According

1 Bobeit Bennet, brother to Anne and Jean.

130 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

to custom took a ps. [piece] in our pouch. Took a
walk by the burn side in Sir William Scot's park
and eat our- bread and cheese between sermons. Got
home half after three, Mrs. Stenhouse with us. Had
an elegant dinner and good stomachs. Betts sick
with eating strawberrys and cream after sallad.
They appeared so frightened that she burst out a
crying. Uncle stood Doctor, and she soon recov-
ered.

Monday. A fine day — walked to the mowers
where they were cutting fine grass and said it would
be two ton and a half of an acre. In the afternoon
we viewed several of our old walks. These brought
to Jeany's remembrance and mine some curious bat-
tles in our childhood and many promises of fi-iend-
ship when we were capable of that noble passion.

Tuesday 10 o'clock. Uncle, Jeany, Bets and E.
S. set out for Newton Don, where we arrived at two
and were received in the kindest manner. The good
old lady seemed in raptures. I had not seen her
these 23 years. It rained hard — we kept house all
the afternoon. Wednesday her coach and chaise
was tackled for us to take an airing and see all the
curiositys of Kelso. Here she showed me where my
Sister Hved, talked much of her and the children
especially Anny. The dinner bell was ringing when
we got home. Sate down in our morning dress.
After dinner dressed and altho' the grass was very
wet her ladyship begged us to walk. We kilted our
coats and followed her for half a mile to one of the
finest falls of water in Scotland. The other side of

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 131

this water is Sir Robert Pringles estate. She con-
ducted us around by the water side through a fine
grove of young trees and some of her tennents
houses. Saw a number of children. As they came
near her she named them and asked them kind ques-
tions, patted their head, bid them put on their bon-
net. This good woman is Doctor to all the poor
folks for miles round. In difficult cases she advises
with my Brother John and Doctor Rutherford.

Upon her arrival in Norwich Mrs. Smith had con-
cerned herself with the future of her brother John's
son and daughter, John and Mary. They were
both to be sent to New England, to James's care,
provided with a stock in trade like that which their
aunt had begun life with.^ The two young emi-
grants crossed the ocean safely and were welcomed
by Mr. Murray at Brush Hill.

1 Norwich, March 23d, 1770.

We, Elizabeth Smith widow late of Boston, New England, now of
Norwich and John Murray Doctor of Physic in Norwich aforesaid
do hereby bind and oblige ourselves our Heirs, and Executors jointly
and severally to Messers Bridgen and Waller, Merchants in London
their Heirs and Executors to be accountable for and discharge all
such sum or sums of money as they shall from time to time advance
in goods in behalf and for the use of John the Son and Mary the
Daughter of the said John Murray in consequence of orders now
given or hereafter to be given by either or both of us as witness our
Hands at Norwich this 23d March 1770.

Witness : Anne Boyleb Signed : John Murrat

Val. B0TLE8 Eliz. Smith

132 JAMES MUKEAY, LOYALIST

JAMES MUKEAY TO ELIZABETH SMITH.

Bkush-hill, June 8th, 1770. '

Dear Sistek, — On Monday evening Capt.
Jacobson arrived and on Tuesday morning Mr.
Goldthwait who was so kind as to take care of our
Niece and Nephew sent me up the Letters they
brought. Your Sister went immediately to Town
and brought them up in the Evening. They are
very fine Children and I am as much pleased now
that they are come as I was feared before about
their coming, on Account of the factious Spirit now
at a great height here, indeed it cannot rise much
higher without the poor People, many of whom are
almost starving for want of Employment, going to
plunder the Rich and then cutting their throats.
The Children I intend to keep here as I shall write
the Doctor ; their Goods wiU be easily disposed of
if they can be got clear of the Clutches of the Sons
of Liberty. How that is to be effected, Jacky
Clark ^ is now going to town to consult and contrive.
He came hither yesterday from Providence.

Mr. Goldthwait tells me, there are now seventy
houses in town empty and like to continue so and
the number even to increase. Among them is your
Sugar house, Cotton House, and the two houses in
King Street, formerly occupied by Butler, DeCher-

eau and Pitcher. Mr. G has in vain offered

them for less rent than they used to let at.

1 John Innes Clark. He had come over from England to be ap-
prenticed to Mr. Murray, but later went into business with Mr.
Nightingale at Proyidence.

BITS OP FAMILY HISTORY 133

Betsey, during the greater part of her stay in
Scotland, was at Mrs. Hamilton's boarding school
in Edinburgh. There, in her letters, she is to be
seen, busied occasionally with such serious studies
as writing, music, and dancing ; but oftener and
more profitably at the play, or enjoying an assembly,
while her aunt keeps her suppUed with proper gowns,
and rejoices in her when she sees her shining con-
spicuous by her beauty among the Edinburgh belles.

ELIZABETH MURRAY TO ELIZABETH SMITH.

January 4, 1771.

. . . When I came from Musilburgh, I received
a message from Lady Philiphaugh desiring my com-
pany to dine there Saturday and another from Mrs.
Brown of Eleston to go to the play with her the
same night. I went to both. Mr. Charles Murray
is arrived in London and is soon expected here. I
am sure I am much obhged to that family. Miss
Murray introduced me to Mrs. Brown, who takes a
great deal of notice of me both by inviting me to
her own house and to public places. Lady Phdip-
haugh is extremely kind to me, and thinks I never
can come often enough to her house. The play
and farse a Saturday was " The patron and the Au-
thor." A Wednesday I went to the Peers Assembly
with Mrs. Hamilton and several of her young Ladies.
It was a very brilliant one, a great many handsome
women and very genteely dressed. There is to be
no AssembHes this Winter, but a few such as the
Queen's &c &c.

134 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

ELIZABETH MTTEEAT TO JEAN BENNET.

January 11, [1771.]

... I wrote my Aunt in my last that I went to
the Peers assembly, but did not dance. There is to
be one more this season, which is Friday next.
Lamott is to have a Publick next Wednesday, so I
beUeve I shall dance at the Queens Assembly. I
was at the play last Saturday with Mrs. St. Clair.
It was the Spanish Friar and the Apprentice. As
for visiting I fear you will hear many complaints of
me, for I seldom go abroad without being sent for.
In the first place I have writing and Musick to
attend in the forenoon, Lamott in the afternoon. I
dont know one part of the town so am always
obhged to hire a Cheur or run after a Cawde which
quite discourages me from paying visits the little
time I can spare.

The Auntie Stenhouse mentioned in the journal
and letters was an aunt of the Bennet sisters. She
rivaled Mrs. Barnes in the hcense given to her pen.

HELEN STENHOUSE TO DOEOTHT FORBES.

My Deak Dolly, — I" Just now Come over from
Stand hiU on a viset to Grand ma, Aunt Smith &
aU y'^ auntes, not forgeting honey Sister Bettzie who
are all very well, & as throng as three in a bed.
One makes up Capes ; an other flounceing a gown
& pettycoat ; a third make a pin Cusheon, all to Cutt
a figure at our Kellso Balls, which is upon y° 10"" Inst.
P warant many akeing heart they" leave when they

BITS OP FAMILY HISTORY 135

return home again. I supose you" soon have a letter
from y' Sister y° Dutches of Roxeburgh, for I wont
have her a husband in our Country under a Duke,
mind that. And mind too that Auntie Stenhouse
wont be pleased if you & y' husband dont Come
over to Stand god father & god mother to y* young
Duke. In truth, says ye, I think auntie Stenhouse
is Just as Daft & froUcksome as she was when I left
Scotland. Why & so I am. You know I™ but a
young girl ; only three Scor ; thats all. I Expect
to be a grand Aunt in a day or tow by y'' Aunt
Douglass. I find y^ Lady Ship has made me a great
grand aunt Some time ago.^ How I Shoud Laugh to
See my Httle Doll sitting w^ my Nephew, tuppling &
Suchleing his Bottle. Well may you & he thrive,
Say I ; & when you writ to y"^ friends here pray drop
a line from y' faer hand to old auntie Stenhouse,
which I assure you I lay up amongest my favourd
Epistles. I must now Conclude, as its drawing negh
night & as 1° wife to a great farmer must get me
home against the Cows be to milk to make y° Cheas
&c. My afPect Compts to my Nephew Forbys, &
doe give y"^ little Suckling a kiss from Auntie Sten-
house. I ever am, My Dr Mad"

Your most affect aunt

Hbllen Stenhouse.

Chesters 4" Sep" 1770.
Mr. Murray's next letter to his daughter confesses

1 A letter from Mr. Murray to Mrs. Smith, of March 12, 1770,
said, " I have received a letter of the 5th December from Mr. Forbes
giving me the joyful news of Dolly's safe delivery of a son."

136 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

quite naively the home pressure which has sent him
over seas. His sister's return to America and the
emigration o£ Dr. John Murray's daughter Anne
are also spoken of. During Mrs. Smith's absence
and that of her brother her affairs, left in Mr.
Goldthwaite's hands, had fallen into confusion, and
her return was hastened by her desire to straighten
them out.

JAMES MtTKEAY TO DOEOTHT FORBES.

London, June 21st, 1771.

My Dear Dolly, — Yesterday I had the pleasure
to receive your Letters of the 10th February, and on
the 27th of last month Mr. Forbes' of the 12th
March. These Letters I have been long looking
for, having heard a great while ago of Capt. Oakes'
safe arrival, but from your and your good mans
Silence I inferred that you were not in Spirits and
rather pitied than blamed you. For which reason I
forbore writing you for some time after my Arrival
here, that you might not have the heavy task of
Answering letters or the Compunction for not an-
swering them. However, I ventured to write Mr.
Forbes last month by way of South CaroUna, after
Sister Smith, Betsey, Mrs. Barclay, her Daughter,
Mr. Barnes and Anny Murray, the Doctor's second
Daughter, had embarked for Casco bay in the
Osterly-Lizard, a fine large Mast Ship which they
preferred to a small Merchantman going directly to
Boston.

Your Aunt's health is much better for her voyage

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 137

and journey to Scotland, ■with which both she and
Betsey returned much pleased. Had your letters
had any tollerable passage, they would have made
your Aunt and Sister very happy, and you would
have had long Letters from them ; for they are both
become great Writers and keep up a large Corre-
spondence, while your old father can scarcely and
but rarely prevail on himself to write a few lines to
those he loves the best.

Altho' I was silent on the Errand that brought
me hither you might easily conjecture it. My Sit-
uation at Brush-hill was quite agreeable to me. You
know I always liked a Country Life, but your
Mamma in the early part of Life always lived in a
town and liked it. The Retirement at Brush-hiU,
especially in the winter time, did not suit her taste.
She saw Mr. Ben & Bob Hollywell,^ Mr. Flucker,"
and Brig'r Ruggles ^ for being friends of Govern-

1 Robert Hallowell of Boston was comptroller of the customs.
In 1765 a mob " surrounded bis elegant house in Hanover Street,
tore down his fences, broke his windows, and, forcing the doors at
last, destroyed furniture, stole money, scattered books and papers
and drank of the wines in the cellar to drunkeness." Sabine's
Loyalists of the Am. Rev., vol. i. p. 608.

Benjamin Hallowell, brother of Robert, was commissioner of the
customs. " In 1774, while passing through Cambridge in his chaise,
he was pursued toward Boston by about one hundred and sixty men
on horseback, at full gallop." Tbid., p. 609.

2 Thomas Flucker was the last secretary of the Province of Mas-
sachusetts Bay. Ihid., p. 428.

* Timothy Ruggles was brigadier-general in the war of 1755. As
a lawyer and a supporter of the measures of the Ministry he was
frequently opposed, in discussions, to Otis. In 1774 his house was
attacked at night, and his cattle maimed and poisoned. He was " a
wit and a man of rude manners and rnde speech." Ibid., vol. ii. p. 242.

138 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

ment get handsome places, and proposed that I, who
had no less signalized myself on that side, should
also exert myself and try my Luck and Interest.
You, or at least Mr. Forbes knows how necessary it
is to Tceep peace at home. For this end I, under all
my aversion to return to the Bustle of Life, from a
thorough sense of the vain Issue of it, and quite
convinced at the same time of the awkward figure
I should make at Court, a Theatre I had never been
accustomed to, ventured to cross the Atlantic, im-
agining as every body in Boston did, that the affairs
of that Province would come under the Considera-
tion of ParHament as soon as the prospect of war
vanished and that it would require no great degree
of Interest or address or Merit to get in the Changes
that might happen all I wanted. But on my Arrival
I found American affairs were to be passed over in
Silence and my Reception from some friends ap-
peared colder than I expected. This set me in low
Spirits, still lowered by an ugly wet winter, so I was
sick of my Voyage. But the weather mending, my
Sister and Betsey coming up so hearty, my health
grew better, and I plucked up resolution to explain
my Errand to some Friends in a manner I had not
done for the two first months, and that with so
much success as induced me to continue here in
hopes that I shall not be forgot when any thing
casts up, which I can aim at. If I am obUged at
last to return, as Mr. Barnes ' and many others have
done, without any provision, I shall reap this advan-

1 Henry Barnes of Marlborough.

BITS OP FAMILY HISTORY 139

tage at least by the voyage. Both your Mama and
I feeling the Inconveniences of a Separation will
be more patient under those we may meet with to-
gether.

My Presence here has already had one good
effect. I have persuaded my Brother Will to sell
out of the Army, by which he will have L. 2000 to
dispose of at his death to such of Nephews or Nieces
as stand most in need or favour. I expect him every
day from Ireland, where he leaves the Regiment.

Your Uncle the Doctor says he is getting into
better business than he had at first moving to Nor-
wich. Two of the seven children he has left at
home are in a dangerous way. He has now three
in America.^

Your Uncle Bennet is now a Lieut, in the first or
Royal Regiment, and is gone with his Corps to
Minorca for three years. Every body speaks well
of him. In his Will he has left you and Betsey
what would have been your Mamma's part of the
Estate, which is now above L.300 a year ; this your
Aunt Smith learned at Chesters. Your Aunt Jeany
is grown very tender. Both she and Anny were
very fond of Betsey, and the sight of her has rivet-
ted their affections to you both.

Not being able to visit my native country in the
splendor that others who started with me have done,
I have hesitated about making the tour, though I
have had several pressing Invitations, but I believe
I shall pluck up Resolution to take a glimpse of our
friends there with brother WUl.

1 John, Mary, and Anne.

140 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

As I write you so seldom, and that (I have said)
is partly your fault, I must not let this letter slip
through my hands without being as particular as it
may be. I shall enquire at Mr. Forbes' s, Bedford
Street, for your Mr. Forbes's brother and do him all
the service I can. . • .

One of the best friends I have here is Gen.
Mackay, who now has the Reg't quartered with
you and with whom I may perhaps have influence
to obtain any favor that may lie in our Mr. F's.
way, tho' I shall and ought to be cautious of press-
ing him on too many sides at once. He tells me
there is a Chaplain with his Reg't. . . .

If I cannot accompHsh my business here in time
to reach Boston before the Winter sets in, it will
give me a fit opportixnity of taking you up to Au-
gustine, of going to Cape Fear to settle my affairs
there, and from thence to proceed early in the
Spring to Boston. But, like a Lover whose Court-
ship is known, I shall be loth to leave the Chase,
if the game should hold out even till next Spring ;
beyond that period I will not persevere. I have a
strict charge from your Mama not to go to Carolina
without her, and she even threatens to come and
carry me home if I do not come out with your
Aunt. If she is in earnest in this, it will discon-
cert me not a httle and cause my Departure ia a
hurry.

Your Sister (I must retmn to her) has been much
improved at home, was at one of the best boarding
schools in Edinburgh, has learned to sing and play

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 141

on the guitar, is grown very tall and so pretty as to
be a conspicuous figure in an Ed'. Assembly. . . .

I shall send some Shoes for your Son by Mr.
Gordon, your Att'y General, who does not look un-
like your old Mr. Gordon. But you ought to put
no Stockings on the Child. If you cannot lay in a
Stock of Resignation about the fate of your Child
or Children, you wiU not only make yourself and
every body about you unhappy by your Anxiety,
but you will defeat the purpose you aim at, you will
kill with kindness.

Mr. Bridgen, my friend, has an only daughter a
child about five years, the heiress of a great fortune,
who is now falling a sacrifice to the Doctors and
Apothecarys in the whooping-cough, a distemper
that seldom proves mortal to poor peoples children,
who have free access to air and natures fare. . . .

My affectionate compliments to Mr. Forbes and
thanks for his kind letter, to which I hope he will
«ount this long letter an answer.

I am My Dear
Your most affectionate father

No sooner had Mrs. Smith arrived in Boston than
Mrs. Barnes's surmises concerning her matrimonial
outlook ran riot, and, as it proved, not without excuse.

MRS. BARNES TO ELIZABETH SMITH.

Aug. 5, 1771.

I dare say by this time you have a little leisure
to look into your own affairs. Pray let me know if

142 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

the Gentleman was not extremely shok'd when you
inform' d him his Ticket was a blank and in what
manner you communicated the intelligence ; and I
should hke wise be glad to know whether your nego-
tiations upon the Hill is Uke to take place. ... I
will not give you my sentiments upon it tUl I know
whether you were in Jest or Earnest, but so far I
wiU venture to say that I approve of no HiUs but
Milton HiU. Observe by the way that Cambridge
is a flat country and when I exclude Hills that is
out of the question. If you like the Situation . . .
why I say Amen, but I think it is a httle hard that
I cannot be Present when aU these affairs are in
agitation. ... It is not either a high or Low sit-
uation that will mend your constitution. Retirement
and ease is what you at present stand in need of,
and in order to procure that you must fix upon
some worthy Person who will reheve you from the
fatigues and cares of life or at least share them
with you. Perhaps you will say the remedy may be
as bad as the disease.

Bad or not, it was a remedy that Mrs. Smith had
resolved to try. She did, undoubtedly, feel the
need of assistance, and her marriage to Ralph Inman,
a wealthy retired merchant of Boston, took place in
September of the same year. Although anticipated
in a measure by Mrs. Barnes, the step was a surprise
to Dr. John.

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 143

DK. JOHN MUEEAT TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Norwich, November 9th, 1771.

Dear Sister : — On the 30th of last month your
affectionate favour of 23d September came safe to
hand, which informed us of your intention to re-
enter into a married state, your general reasons for
that step and your future plan of life.

As our children had not mentioned anything of
this event, and you said the news of it had given
them a shock, I must own that I was a little affected
on their account, and I believe your Sister more
than me, although she took but little notice of it.

Upon mature deliberation, I am inchned to ap-
prove this change of hfe after your return to Amei^
ica ; for having heretofore appeared as a person of
consequence there, it would ill-brook our family
spirit to be degraded to a kind of nothingness with-
out a home or family.

The chief reason of my supposing that you would
remain single, exclusive of your attachment to the
interest of our Children, was the difficulty of find-
ing an object every way worthy of your choice;
yet from what I remember, or have heard from you
and others of Mr. Inman, I make no doubt of yoiu*
being as happy in this as in any of your former
matrimonial connexions. On this agreeable event,
therefore, your Sister most sincerely joins me in
wishing both Mr. Inman and you much joy and all
manner of happiness for the remainder of your hves.

With regard to your private affairs, as the con-
cern was principally your own, you certainly had a

144 JAMES MUEKAY, LOYALIST

right to dispose of them as you thought proper ;
and the method you have taken, I must think the
best, as it is acting with your usual generosity and
confidence, which will naturally meet with an equal
return,

I and my family having already got so much we
have no right to expect, far less to claim, more.
Therefore whatever future favours you shew to me
or mine ought and shall be attributed to your and
Mr. Inman's afEection and benevolence.

My Path is still strewed with thorns, for difficul-
ties of one kiud or another continually spring up as
others are surmounted ; but as it has ever been my
study faithfully to discharge the various duties of
life, and Providence has most wonderfully supported
me in my several exigencies, I have no reason to
doubt of the continuance of its protection and
support.

Those principles which I have found useful for
my own conduct in hfe, and have instilled into the
elder branches of my family with your approbation,
I shall as far as Ues in my power inspire the younger
with, who hitherto promise to fall nothing short of
their predecessors. Therefore I hope they wiU in
due time become equally worthy of your regard and
agreeable to society.

We write by this conveyance to our children,
whose interest, I dare say, will suffer nothing from
the late step you have taken, while their behavior
and conduct contiuue to merit your notice and en-

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 145

couragement. Yet you will forgive me, if I own
that I now and then feel a Pang for them. Oh my
Children ! Orphans in a Strange Land ! what will
become of you, if Providence should remove your
Aunt or any Cause ahenate her affection ? Thou
God of my Fathers and his Childrens Youth ! vouch-
safe also to be the God and the Guide of his Grand-
children.

I continue to draw quarterly upon Messrs Bridgen
& Waller for the usual sum, but have been obliged
to anticipate a quarter on account of extraordinary
expenses in removing into a new House, of which I
wrote a sUght description in my last to our Girls.
I am sorry to find that the Norwich Manufactory
does not answer at Boston, yet Mr. ElUot and Mr.
Emery have sent some good Orders to Messrs Brett
& Co. Mr. Day is at Holland, so have not seen him
since your last came to hand. My Business rather
mends, but an ilbberal Jealousy has arisen in a
quarter I did not expect.

Charlotte goes to dancing and writing school,
improves a pace and grows tall. Bettsy and Charles
are much better, but not well. Jemmy is tender.
The rest of the Children are in good health, desire
their duty to their Uncle and Aunt Inman, and
thanks for their cake and gloves. Our friends at
Wells are much the same as usual, only Sister Nanny
is hke to be lame. Your Sister, whose health is still
precarious, desires to join in Love to you and
Brother Inman, to whom I write, to our other Con-

146 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

nexions, and Compliments to all friends with Dear
Sister,
Your most obliged and affectionate Brother,

John Mubray.

P. S. Our Brothers are in London.

Early in 1773, Mr. Murray, accompanied by his
wife, made a journey to the South, and put into effect
the long-cherished plan of persuading his daughter
to visit her old home. Mrs. Forbes's health had
suffered visibly during her stay in St. Augustine.
Remembering the fate of her mother, Mr. Murray
was strenuous in his advice to her to resort to
change of air, and she prepared to travel northward
with her two sons, James Grant, a child of three
years of age, and John, then little more than an
infant. At the last moment Mr. Forbes could not
decide to let the older boy go, and she was obliged
to proceed without him. Moreover, her father was
unexpectedly detained in the South by business, and
his plan of escort failed. She was, however, a wo-
man equal to every emergency, and her long journey
was undertaken with only a maid-servant and a
slave, Juba, to care for herself and her little boy.

JAMES MUERAT TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

St. Augustine, April 27tli, 1773.
Dear Sister, — Your Brother and Niece having
been unavoidably detained here much longer than
we expected was convenient for one in her situation,

BITS OP FAMILY HISTORY 147

we are glad to send her and the children by a fine
transport ship bound hence to New York ; whence
she will take the first conveyance for Ehode Island.
I trust in Grod she will get to Brush-hill in good
time, where I need not desire you to make every-
thing as convenient for her as may be. I have said
children, but Mr. Forbes is so wrapt up in his eldest
son who is indeed a very fine boy, that he cannot
find resolution to part with him.

I retiu-n this week by water to Charlestown, thence
as I can to Cape Fear and thence after putting my
afBairs in the best posture I can, to make the best
of my way with your Sister homeward — vain would
be any hint for her to stay in CaroHna — the more
she sees of other places, the more fond she is of
Boston and its Neighbourhood. Remember me
afEectionately to Mr. Inman, Betsey and the rest of
the young folks.

I am most gratefully Dear Sister

Yours

Mrs. Forbes's letter from New York, which fol-
lows, is brief, but very expressive of the inconven-
ience of the uncertain means of travel, and of her
urgent need to be at her destination.

New York, May lOfch, [1773].
My Deak Aunt, — I arrived here with my little
Boy, Juba and a maid Servant on Friday last and
am very much distressed that I cannot get an op-
portunity for Ehode Island till Wednesday next as

148 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

the Small-pox is very much in this place — I fear my
Boy may get it. My papa desired me to send for
his carriage to meet me ; if it is not convenient I
hope you will be so good as write a few lines and
leave at Mr. Clarks in Providence for me where I
hope wind and weather permitting to be on Satur-
day or Sunday and mdeed it is full time I should
be at my journeys end, as the post is just going I
have only time to add my respectful compliments
to Mr. Inman and love to my Sister and Cousins.
I am my Dear Aunt,

Your dutiful & much obliged Niece

Hastily written on the same sheet with this letter,
but added, evidently, after its receipt in Massachu-
setts, are directions which foUow, from Mrs. Inman
to the household at Brush Hill : —

" Dear Ladys see that Jack fits up the carriage
properly for Providence. I shall bring Bill with me
to set out on Wednesday afternoon. Pray boil
Barley and Corn for the horses and feed them well.
I shall bring Mrs. Forbes directly to Brush-hill I
hope on Saturday. Go on slowly in cleaning your
house, put up no Curtains till I see you. Pray let
the Barley and Corn be boiled till it is split and
cool it before you give it to the horses. Give them
two quarts each twice a day. Measure it — after it
is boiled a little salt in it. If Jack has time he may
clean the yard."

She would not allow her niece to make the fatigu-
ing last stage of the expedition alone, but went her-

BITS OF FAMILY HISTORY 149

self to Providence and fetched her safe home. There
she arrived, spent, indeed, and anxious, but still in
time to give her third son, Ralph Bennet Forbes,
the right to call himself Massachusetts born.

CHAPTER IV

A TOKY IN BEVOLUTIONAKY BOSTON
1765-1778

The political turmoil in the midst of which Mr.
Murray had found himself upon his removal to
Boston in 1765 filled him with surprise and dismay.
The Stamp Act had just been passed, obnoxious
duties were being enforced, trade and manufactures
were suffering, and the town was in a ferment of
wrath and opposition. He had hoped, on leaving
North Carolina, that he was turning his back upon
rebellion, but here he had alighted upon the very
seat of disorder. For it was as disorder, first and
foremost, that the movement presented itself to
him.

It has been said that Mr. Murray never became a
thorough-going American. The strong family ties
that bound him to the old country, in which he had
himself grown to man's estate, must at best, even
had he possessed a less conservative temper, have
divided his allegiance. By force of circumstances
as well as of inchnation it was inevitable that in
North Carolina, and afterwards in Massachusetts,
his associates should have been those whose sympa-
thies and prejudices were upon the English side.

ELIZABETH MURRAY (MRS. INMAX)

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 151

The Boston of the patriots, of James Otis, John
Hancock, and "the brace of Adamses," he never
knew.

Yet he was not incapable of taking a broader
view than did many of those in whose company he
found himself. As far back as 1755 he had written
of a general union of the colonies as " a step in
the scheme of Providence for fixing in time an em-
pire in America." He had no resentment against
the Stamp Act, which he declared to be "a neces-
sary spur " to the industry of the colonies ; but
he was so far from being blind to the logic of the
future that he affirmed : " In process of time this
extensive, fertile territory, cultivated as it will be
by millions of people, healthy and strong, must by
the nature of things preponderate." Perhaps even
then he did not contemplate as desirable, or even
possible, the severance of the ties between them.
At any rate, he did not recognize, in the grotesque
demonstrations which he saw around him, any in-
dication that America's hour of preponderance or
independence had struck ; nor could he see in the
simultaneous rioting throughout the colonies the be-
ginnings of a union. Even the protest which found
expression in pamphlets and in the press, in resolves
and remonstrances, had httle significance for him.
The meaning of the discontent, the strength of the
resentment, he did not gauge; nor could his con-
servative, practical mind have been expected to read
in the signs of the times the future which was hid-
den from the eyes of the men who moulded it.

152 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

The epithet of Tory was given in opprobrium.
And among the Tories there were doubtless some
who had chosen their side from motives of mere
self-interest. Of such were many of the office-
holding class. Others were Tories because of their
love of peace and a quiet life, and because of their
natural shrinking from the excess and violence that
characterized the acts of those who styled them-
selves Patriots. Still others, and these deserved to
be called Loyalists rather than Tories, took the Brit-
ish side because they could not sever connections
with the old home. A few there were who were
Tories from pure patriotism, by reason of their con-
viction that rebellion meant ruin to America. Of
these Thomas Hutchinson was the most distinguished
example. James Murray cannot, indeed, be called
a Tory of the Hutchinson type, and yet he shared
completely Hutchinson's conviction that the best
interests of America were being sacrificed by the
very men who maintained that they were asserting
her rights. And although, like all those who sided
with the King, he incurred suspicion and hatred, he
never, to the end of his life, could see himself as an
enemy to the land he had helped to build.

His own grievances might well have disaffected
him. He had entered the sugar business, — from
which Mr. Smith had retired, — only to find that
particular branch of industry sadly crippled. But
it was impossible to shake his loyalty. In Jidy,
1765, he wrote to his brother John : —

" All your friends here are well, but in great

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 153

dread with others of being crampt in their Com-
merce and drained of their money by the late parlia-
mentary Regulations, which point more particularly
at the ruin of the Sugar Refiners, as well by the in-
crease of the Bounty at home, as of the Duties here.
At the worst, ' Me silva cavusque tutus ab insidiis
tenui solabitur ervo.' My own fate or fare, at this
time of hfe, I am not solicitous about. I should re-
joice indeed, if it pleased Providence by a moderate
share of Industry on my part to render me useful
to my connexions, and particularly to enable me to
acquit myself of my obKgations."

Very soon after this the partnership into which
he had entered with Mr. Head was dissolved, the
sugar-house was shut up, and his business was at an
end. The refinery was reopened a year later, but
it was then merely a forlorn hope, managed by him
with but a single assistant in the counting-room, his
young nephew, John Innes Clark. John and his
brother Thomas, it may be said here, had come over
from England shortly before the year 1765.

The summer of 1765 saw the sacking of Hutchin-
son's Boston house, when his property was carried
o£E or destroyed, and his valuable manuscripts were
scattered to the winds. The letter which follows
was written by Mr. Murray in November of that
year, but it is singularly free from condemnation
of the excesses of the time.

154 JAMES MTJERAY, LOYALIST

james mxjekat to dr. john mureat.

Boston, New England, Nov. 13, 1765.

You will have heard long before this reaches you
what a Spirit the Stamp Act has raised in these Col-
onies, which for want of power on the part of the
Crown to check it in these three great Towns, Boston,
York, Philadelphia, has gone very great Lengths
indeed, particularly at New York. The multitude,
among which are many men of figure and fortune,
imagine that such proceedings will surely procure a
Repeal of the Act and prevent further imposition ;
while a few, they call them the base few, are silently
of opinion that these late feats will not only rivet
the Act in question, but bring the Colonies under
a much stricter government than ever they have yet
felt. The Truth is, we are the Children of a most
indulgent Parent who has never exerted her author-
ity over us, tiU we are grown almost to manhood and
act accordingly ; but were I to say so here before
our Chief Ruler, the Mob, or any of their adlierents,
I should presently have my house turned inside out.

The Stamp Act, so far from being a hurt to the
Colonies, which they pretend to be unable to bear,
wUl be a necessary Spur to their Industry. The
Dif&cidty will be to keep that Industry from being
employed on articles that will interfere with the
Mother Country, and so to preserve the Benefit &
dependence of America to Britain as long as may be :
but in the process of time, this extensive, fertile ter-
ritory, cultivated as it wiU be by millions of people
healthy and strong, must by the Nature of things

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 155

preponderate. Our comfort is that period seems to
Ke far beyond our day. Enough of pohtics. Let
us leave them to abler heads.

I told you in my Letter of July that the late acts
bore hard on the sugar business: these, and the
short Crops in the West Indies, have prevented the
Lnportation of raw sugars here, and have in course
shut up the sugar houses, and ours among the rest.
This loss is like soon to be made up to me by the
Demise of my Wife's Mother, who Hes at the point
of death ; by this about L. 1500 Sterhng will fall to
our share, the Literest of which wiU support us in
the Silva which I spoke of, for I think it is time for
me, aU circumstances considered, to leave off bus-
thng for the world.

When the Stamp Act was repealed, and the Smith-
Paddock elms, Tories though they were, blazed with
lanterns in the general rejoicing, he still held the
attitude of judicial and hopeful spectator. To such
men as he, men who were averse to partisanship, and
whose interests centred wholly within the domestic
circle, yet who could take a large impersonal view
of passing events, the inevitable ban under which,
as Tories, they afterward fell, bore all the sting of
injustice.

JAMES MTTEEAT TO DE. JOHN MURRAY.

N. E. Boston, June 21, 1766.

I begin with informing you that in March last I
resumed without a Partner the Sugar business, in

156 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

hopes to save at least my Expenses of living in town,
but how it win turn out I cannot guess till the end
of the year. Your nephew J. I. Clark proves a very
useful hand in that trade, and I hope in due time
will be able to Carry it on with benefit to himself.

Tommy goes on with moderate success in his busi-
ness,^ . . . Although there are some Symptoms of
our poUtical Constitution and the morals on which
it depends being on the decline, I do not think we
are yet in Foci EomuH. If the authority of the
Crown and measures of Government are the Sport
of faction, there is no help for that. Our Disease is
the Power of the People, who blindly devolve it on an
artfid Demogogue. If at his Instigation they have
erred in the Repeal, they are making some atonement

1 Thomas Clark had learned the watchmaker's trade ia England,
and having eome to this country was practicing it in Boston. In 1767
he gave it up, and went to take charge of Mr. Murray's estate in
Cape Fear.

James Clark, his elder brother, had before this had the care of the
property ; he now paid a visit to his uncle in Boston, and afterward,
in 1769, returned to Wilmington. The Cape Fear estate was in 1767
valued by Mr. Murray at nearly £3000. Besides Point Repose,
which he estimated at £2000, he had mill lands which he estimated
at £500, lots in Wilmington at £250, and other lots and lands at
Rockflsh. In 1776, or sometime thereafter, owing to his adherence
to the English side, the whole of Mr. Murray's property was confis-
cated. It was then claimed by Thomas Clark, who presented an ac-
count for more than the assessed value of the property, and it was
ultimately by an act of the legislature made over to him. Mrs.
Forbes in 1784 went to WUmington to recover, if she could, some of
her patrimony, but without success. She did not even see her cousin,
who wrote from his plantation that floods prevented his leaving his
estate to visit her in Wilmington, but that if she could come to
him he would be happy to see her, and did not doubt of being able to
convince her that he had acted for the best in what he had done.

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 157

by proper Regulations of trade. By the Lord's Pro-
test it is plain the circumstances of the Colonies and
the Consequences of the Repeal are understood and
foreseen. Mr. Se'ry C-n-y may talk of the Lenity &
magnanimity of the K. & Pt. shewn in the Repeal ;
but we believe the true motives were the madness of
the people here, magnified at home, put the merchants
in fear of their Souls, I mean their purses. The
merchants terrified the Tradesmen and trading
towns, they plied their members, who toward the
Conclusion of a Parliament durst not but bend ; the
money Interest worked on the ministry, and perhaps
the ministry's good wiU to their predecessors oper-
ated a httle the same way. Thus they lost for fear
of loosing, as you have known Patients die from
fear of dying. Enough of Politics. Let us return
to the fire Side.

The sentiment slowly rising in Massachusetts
against slavery was to lovers of the established
order but another instance of the leveling tendency
of the time, akin to the outcry of the Patriots for
liberty and equality. To Messrs. Duncan and An-
crum of South Carolina, Mr. Murray wrote, July 6,
1765:* —

" This incloses Bill of Lading & Invoice for a
Negro Wench and a few Goods, which you wiU dis-
pose of to the best advantage for my Ace', and the
three pieces of silk for Mr. Wm. Corbell's ace'. The

' Dr. John Murray, in England, however, was the author of a pam-
phlet entitled " On the Gradual Aholition of Slavery."

158 JAMES MUKEAY, LOYALIST

Wench was M' Hooper's. I am well assurd of her
Honesty & that she understands plain cookery, roast
& boild, can wash & Iron, and is about 37 years of
age. The Reason of her being sent off is her tak-
ing to drinking, which the lenity used to Negroes
here cannot curb." In March, 1767, he wrote to
the same correspondents : " Send me Dennis or some
other Clever sedate boy some time in May at farthest.
After that time the Importation of negroes here will
probably be prohibited."

When " Sam Adams's two regiments," sent by
Gage from New York, arrived in Boston and were
refused shelter in various places under the control
of the patriots, Mr. Murray came forward, and the
sugar-house was opened to them for barracks.
Thenceforth " Murray's barracks," or " Smith's
barracks," as they were indiscriminately called,
were a source of irritation to the town. Moreover,
his willingness to lodge British soldiers and a free
hospitahty shown to British officers, — General
Mackay ^ and others were frequently at his house,
— marked Mr. Murray as a "King's man." His
appointment, in 1768, as justice of the peace, drew
him still further into public notice. Popular dis-
pleasure, in fact, so far distinguished him as to make
him, in the autimin of the next year, the victim of a

1 The N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register, toI. xlviii. p. 433, in a list of
British officers serving in America, 1754-1774, mentions the Hon.
Alexander Mackay as having received his commission as major-gen-
eral in April, 1770. There are some indications in the letters that
he was related to Mrs. Murray.

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A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 159

mob, small, certainly, but exclusively his own. He
has given a humorous account of it.^

JAMES MUERAT TO OF NEW TOEK.

Boston, September 30th, 1769.

No doubt, Sir, you have seen, in the pubUc
papers, the story of the quarrel between Mr. Rob-
inson and Mr. Otis, on the 5th inst. In that affair
Mr. W. S. Brown happened to strike Mr. Gridley,
who, interfering in behalf of Mr. Otis, had seized

' Mr. Murray's letter opens with a reference to the quarrel
between James Otis and John Robinson. This is described by S. G.
Drake as follows : —

" A very unfortunate affair happened on the fifth of September,
at the British Coffee house in King Street, which was a rencontre
between James Otis and John Robinson. The latter was one of the
Commissioners of the Customs, who, Mr. Otis believed, had deeply
injured him by misrepresenting his motives for his political course.
He believed also, and pro,bably with good reason, that Robinson, with
other Crown officers in Boston, had endeavored to have the leading
Patriots, and particularly himself, prosecuted for treason and sent to
England for trial. . . . The quarrel was carried into the papers of
the day, and resulted in a fight, disgraceful to both parties.

" Mr. Otis, it seems, went to the coffee house by appointment, where
he met Robinson, who began the assault upon him. Others, friends
of the former, joined in the assault, and Otis was severely handled,
being cut in the head and otherwise wounded. . . . Mr. Otis appears
to have gone to the Coffee house unattended by friends, while the
other party was well provided by the presence of several officers of
the army and navy. A young man named John Gridley happened
to be passing the coffee house, and, being a friend of Otis, he went
to his assistance, but he was roughly handled, and soon put out of the
house. The matter was carried into court, where it was kept tor
about four years." S. G. Drake, History of Boston, p. 770. The jury
finally brought in a verdict in favor of Mr. Otis for £2000 damages.

Otis never fully recovered from the effects of this assault.

Robinson was a son-in-law of James Boutineau, afterward a refu-
gee, who had married one of Peter Faneuil's sisters.

160 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Mr. Robinson, and torn his coat. For this crime,
he, Mr. Brown, was unjustly charged through the
town with having attacked Mr. Otis himself, while
engaged with Mr. Robinson, and was, therefore, to
be treated with the utmost rigor. In order to this
he was apprehended on the 6th by a peace officer
and carried late in the evening before two justices,
Messrs. Dana and Pemberton, in Faneuil Hall, where
a multitude assembled.

I, taking a walk in the Town House that evening,
was told of this by Mr. Perkins, and, consulting my
feelings for another's distress more than my own
safety, went directly to the Hall to attend the
proceedings.

Soon as the multitude perceived me among them,
they attempted repeatedly to thrust me out, but
were prevented by Mr. Mason, one of the select-
men, calling out, " For shame, gentlemen, do not
behave so rudely." Then, lending me his hand,
helped me over the door into the selectmen's seat.
Before I got down from the seat I was hiss'd. I
bowed. I was hiss'd again, and bowed around a
second time. Then a small clap ensued. CompU-
ments over, I sat down. The justices asked me up
to the bench. I declined. The examination of
some evidence was continued, and, being finished,
the justices thought fit to bind over Mr. Brown.
He lookt about for bail. No one offered but I.
Here I desired the justices to take notice that I did
not mean by this ofFer to vindicate what Mr. Brown
had done, but only to stand by him now the torrent

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 161

was against him. The recognizance taken, the jus-
tices desired the people to disperse, for that Mr.
Brown had comphed with the law ; but the crowd,
intending more sport, stiU remaiued.

As I was pressing out next to Mr. Dana, my wig
was pulled ofB, and a pate, clean shaved by time^
and the barber, was left exposed. This was thought
a signal and prelude to further insult, which would
probably have taken place but for hurtiug the cause.
Goiag along ia this phght, surrounded by the crowd,
in the dark, Lewis Gray took hold of my right arm
and Mr. WOliam Taylor of my left, and supported
me, while somebody behind kept nibbling at my
sides and endeavoring to trip me ; for the pleasure,
as may be supposed, of treading the reforming jus-
tice out of me by the multitude. Mr. Deblois threw
himself in my rear, and suffered not a httle in my
defence. Mr. G. Hooper went before, and my wig,
disheveled, as I was told, was borne on a staff be-
hind. The gentlemen, my friends and supporters,
offer' d to house me near the Hall, but I uisisted on
going home in the present trim, and was by them
landed in safety, Mr. Gray and others having con-
tinually thus admonished my retinue in the way,
" No violence, or you 'U hurt the cause."

I did not intend to trouble even you, my intimate
friend, with this minute detail, much less to pubhsh
what I thought no credit to the town ; but our
Liberty lads have such a rage for pubHcation that
everything must go to the press and be seen through

' Yet he was only fifty-six years old.

162 JAMES MURKAT, LOYALIST

their distorted medium, even though it shoidd in the
end hurt theix cause.

To provoke me to this, they have mentioned in a
last Monday's paper a late insult, for which, you
know, honorable satisfaction has been demanded
and given, with a spirit and generosity which none
of the nameless scandal-mongers for the papers of
Bdes and Bell, and Fleet, are possessed of. I am, &c.

On the fifth of March, 1770, after much provoca-
tion on both sides, came the outbreak between the
soldiers and the crowd, known in history as the
Boston Massacre.

To Mrs. Smith, who was then abroad, — for this
chapter has not yet overtaken in time the close of
the previous one, — her brother gave a long and
remarkably accurate account of the occurrence.

JAMES MURRAY TO ELIZABETH SMITH.

Bktjsh-hlll, March 12'", 1770.

Since I wrote you on the 19th of last Month I
have had the pleasure of your Letter and DuppUcate
of the 7th Dec. and of Bettzy's Letters accompany-
ing them. It gives us great pleasure, you may be
sure, to hear your health is so much better than
when you left us, and that was at a good time, for
it would have given you pain to have continued in
or near the Turbulent Town of Boston. Had it
not been for the two Regiments there, the Mobbing
would have been greater and more general than in
the year 1765. The Restraint that these were might

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 163

be a principal Cause that the Soldiers were so often
insulted and abused, and to heighten that abuse the
news papers bragged how they were conquered.
lU-humour thus worked up on both sides, — the mob
assembled in King Street this day se'ennight about
eight o'clock in the Evening, insulted the Sentry on
his post at the Custom house (Apthorp's house).
Notice of this was sent to the Main Guard. Preston,
of the 29, the Captain of the Day, came with a party
of eight men to the Belief of the Sentry. The Mob
stiU crowded and abused them, some of them calling
out repeatedly, " Fire, why don't you fire," tiU at
length five or six Muskets were fired singly and suc-
cessively, which killed as many men and woimded
several, but none of note except Mr. Edward Payne
who is Hke to do well. This you may be sure set
the People in a great fury not being used to such
skirmishes. The Lieut. Gov'r came up to the
Council Chamber, spoke mildly to the people from
the window, told them to disperse and he would see
Justice done on the Guilty. He sat with the Coun-
sellors and some of the Justices tiU three o'clock
next morning, sent for Col. Dah-ymple and Col.
Carr, had the former's order for Captain Preston,
who surrendered, was examined and committed to
Prison, as were the Soldiers of the Party that fired.
Five or six witnesses swear that Preston bid his men
fire. Others swear that he did not, and say that if the
fireing had been by order it would not have been by
single muskets. Be it as it will, there will be httle
Chance for him and his Men with enraged, preju-

164 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

diced Juries. The King's Mercy must be their only
hope. At this Conference ^ of the L. Gov'r, Coun-
cil and Colonels, the Gov'r by the unanimous advice
of the Council directed the Colonel to remove the
two Eegiments from the Town to the Castle, which
was agreed to. Mr. Sam. Adams told Col. Dahym-
ple in pubhc (when he offered to send off the 29th,
which had given the offence, and reserve the 14:th)
that if he kept either, it must be at his own peril.
Upon this the several posts of Sentrys ia the town
were called in, the main guard given up, the two
Regiments confined to their Barracks, and some dis-
positions made for removing them to the Castle,
where two Companies of the 29th were actually sent
last week, and the Townsfolks were waiting with im-
patience for the embarkation of all the rest. They
were beginning to dread that their Removal would
be postponed tiU the Colonel heard from the Gen-
eral. I should have told you that the Council, when
they advised the Gov'r to order the Regiments away
(for it seems he has the right to order them when
there is not an Officer superior to the Colonel in
Command), [said] that they, the Counsellors, would
be responsible for the peace of the Town if the
Troops were out. But the Commissioners would not
have choosed to trust to such secmity, they would
have gone off with the Regiments, and nobody can
blame them, for every falsehood is used to render
them odious to and suspected by the People. They
were not only charged by Insinuation with the mur-

1 That of the day following the massacre must be meant.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 165

der of the boy who was killed when the Mob was at
Richardson's ; but now Andrews, your former Car-
penter, has been employed to examine by the holes
of the Balls on the South side of King Street and
the direction of them, whence it must have proceeded,
and it is given out that some of the Shot was from
the upper Windows of the Custom'house by Green's
Son, hired for that purpose. . . .

P. S. — I will not answer for the Authenticity of
every article of the above, for in my short Interviews
with the best Authorities they were on the Reserve,
and did not think it became me to be inquisitive.

Boston, March 14th.

Of both Regiments, the 29 is already gone to the
Castle, the 14th are going. Yom- Barrack is clear,
but not yet given up. The Com'rs are again to de-
camp, and affairs are in great Confusion here under
the thin covering of an outward Calm. Mr. Comm'r
Robinson,^ who carries this, goes home to represent
all these things in their proper light.

Your old Brother intends to foUow your advice to
live well and cheerfully and as quietly as the Busi-
ness of his Friends will permit him. Adieu.

In the box to Col. Harrison are the news papers to
this day.

Mr. Murray was now in the midst of things, and
deeply concerned for the safety of Captain Preston.
He wrote to Hutchinson expressing his fear that the
people woidd do some injury to Preston, and received

1 The same who was in the Otis affray.

166 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

in reply a reassuring note, which is printed in the
Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society.^
He also sent to Colonel Dalrymple, who commanded
one of the regiments, the following communication.

JAMES MUEKAT TO COLONEL DALRYMPLE.

Milton, August 27th, 1770.

Sib, — I am just now honored with your letter of
this date, and at your Desire readily excuse your not
sooner acknowledging the Receipt of mine of the
27th of last month. In that letter I took the Lib-
erty to suggest that after much pains taken to pre-
judice the People of Boston against Captain Preston
there was too much room to suspect he would pass
his time but badly, at and after his trial ; that I was
well convinced of his Innocence, Zealous for the
peace and Credit of the town, and should be sorry
to hear of any violence against him ; that I should
be ready, as a Civil Magistrate, to escort, I should
have said to be escorted by, a party of two hundred
men of your Regiment with their Officers to Town,
there to remain in Smith's Barrack during his Trial
and to the Issue of it ; that a Sentry from the Top
of the House could see or hear a Signal from the
Goal ; that no mortal knew of the proposal and that
it did not seem to me necessary that any should
know it, but General Gage and you. Sir, and Capt.
Preston for his peace of mind. I have recapitulated,
because you say that you sent the Letter to the Gen-
eral after communicating it to the Lieut. Governor.^
I should have been glad indeed when you saw this
1 Vol. V. of the Second Series, p. 361. ^ Thomas Hutchinson.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 167

Step necessary of showing it to His Hon'r, that you
had been pleased to give me an opportunity of
mending my letter, in that Respect. My not men-
tioning His Hon'r proceeded from no Disrespect to
him; but Experience had convinced me that such
an Offer from me would not avail with him, unless
previously recommended by the General.

In this day's Letter you are pleased to signify that
part of your Orders and Instructions are " to be aid-
ing and assisting to the Civil Magistrate in the Exe-
cution of Laws and in repressing violences whenever
you receive a Regular Requisition for that purpose."
What greater Violences in any state, toUerably civil-
ized, can be committed than what have lately been
committed in Boston ? which violences I do in my
Conscience beheve wiU be crowned with the Murder
of Captain Preston, if there is no miHtary force to
support a Magistrate and the Laws for his protection.
In this firm behef I do require of you such an aid
as I before mentioned, and fear not we shall all be-
have on the Service so as to obtain the Approbation
of God and aU good men.

This requisition, being made without the partici-
pation or even privity of the Lieut. Governor, can-
not be disagreeable to his Honor, as he will not be
answerable for the Consequences should they prove
imfortunate. I have the Honor to be with much
Respect Sir, Your most obedient Servant

Mr. Murray's letter was undeniably a requisition
upon the colonel for soldiers to form a guard, but
soldiers were in such disfavor that it was probably

168 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

thought prudent to let the town-meeting provide
for a guard, which it did. A guard was appointed
and kept watch nightly during the Preston trial,
the civil magistrates by turns taking their share of
the vigils.

The difficulties of Mr. Murray's friend, John
Mein, are a matter of history ; yet, for the purpose
of illustrating Mr. Murray's relation to passing
events, they may be briefly recounted here. Mr.
Mein, of the firm of Mein & Fleming, and pub-
lisher in 1768-70 of " The Chronicle," was one of
the leading booksellers in Boston. His paper, neu-
tral at first, afterwards took up vigorously the cause
of the Tories. On the 28th of October, 1769, as
he was passing up King Street to his office, he was
attacked by a crowd of furious young men and boys
and forced to fly for protection to the main guard
near by. So insulting and violent were his persecu-
tors in demanding him of the soldiers, and so rapidly
did their numbers increase, that the two regiments
were ordered to arms.^ It was soon after this ex-

^ In a procession celebrating " Pope's Day," November 6, in this
same year, Mr. Mein's effigy was carried through the streets to Copp's
Hill, where it was solemnly burned. At the same time upon a trans-
parency borne by the young men was an acrostic which ran: —

" Jnsnlting wretch, we 'U him expose,
O'er the whole world his deeds disclose ;
HeR DOW gapes wide to take him in,
No-w he is ripe, lump of sin !
Jfean is the man, M — n is his name,
Enough he 's spread his hellish fame,
Jufernal furies hurl his soul
.^ine million times from Pole to Pole."

S. G. Drake, History of Boston,

A TORY IN EEVOLUTIONAKY BOSTON 169

perience that Mr. Mein sailed for England, as Mr.
Murray explains. In a letter written before the
massacre he says to his sister : —

" I send in a separate packet what news papers I
have saved for the month past. Mr. Mein, who will
deliver this, will compleat the Intelligence. He has
lately had a more narrow escape with his life from
the fury of some of our Chief mobbers than your
old Brother had with his quiet Retenue. He goes
home in hopes to make their mischievous Intentions
turn out to his Emolument, and indeed it would not
be safe for him to continue here for some time, they
are so exasperated at a late publication of his."

In the letter of March 12 he adds, upon this sub-
ject : —

" Your old Brother went to town on the first
Thursday of the month, according to the printed
advertisement sent you. That happened to be the
very day that Mr. Hancock by Letters and powers he
then received laid an attachment on Mr. Mein's book
store and printing office. I dined that day at Mr.
E. G's,' 'where Mr. Miller in behalf of Mr. Mein
came to me. I went to the House and had a meet-
ing of his Friends, who after examining into the
state of his affairs found themselves quite safe in
becoming security to abide by the Judgment of the

Court. This Mr. H refused and would not take

ofE his attachment and could not be compelled to do
it, but matters were managed so with the Sheriff as
to get him to accept of a pledge for the value of Mr.
1 Ezekiel Goldthwaite's.

170 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

Mein's Interest attached at the printing office. This
set the press a going again, much to the Surprize

and Disappointment of Mr. H and his party, with

whom this was the Capital Object in this Stroke
of his. A Method has been since hit on to reheve
the books also by a tender of other Goods. I should
not have dwelt so long on this last Article, but to
let you see the baseness of the party and to Account
for my being in town from the Thursday to the
Monday, the night of the Riot. Mr. Mein's friends
having set me at their head to Manage this business,
that time was fully employed in trying to surmount
the Difficulties that were industriously thrown in the
way, and, not being concerned in trade, they thought
me the least liable to the malice of the Party.

" I leave to others to tell you of the Mobbish do-
ings upon those they call Importers, among whom
they were so mean as to include your poor Miss
Cumings.

" The folly. Rage and Madness of the Party have
been greatly raised by the late Accounts they have
had that Administration is to give way to them
a Second time. If that is true, they will presently
have work enough on their hands in America."

" The trouble which you have kindly and volun-
tarily taken in my affairs," Mr. Mein wrote to Mr.
Murray in February, 1772, while they were both
abroad, " and the great obligations which you have
conferred upon me, I entertain an inexpressible idea
of. Indeed, expression is always lame where the

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON" 171

grateful feelings of the heart are concerned." A
letter written in 1775 is interesting as showing Mr.
Mein's point of view.

JOHN MEIN TO JAMES MUEEAT.

London, January ll"", 1775.

Dear Sir, — ... I have a great deal to say, but
this is not the opportunity. Every Body here who
is not paid by the Colonies has a very proper sense
of the present Contest. Those who find their Emol-
ument in deceiving the Colonies will continue to de-
ceive them as long as their Emolument continues.
Your Province is considered here as in declared re-
beUion : Outlawries, Confiscations, and Executions
are looked upon to be the certain Consequences.
The Men of Property who are the Ringleaders will
be the only objects of punishment ; the deluded
populace are already universally objects of Commis-
eration : and all the depredations committed on pro-
perty must be raised from the Estates of the Opulent
Rebels ; for the poor, who are also the misguided,
can make no pecuniary Compensation ; they will
also be exempted from personal punishment, as they
are only considered as mere Instruments in the hands
of their deluders. It is thought here to be a very
great calamity that thousands of innocent people
should be involved in Misery through the atrocious
villany of a few most abandoned Men.

The American abuse against administration is
clearly in the opinion of the GeneraHty here only a
flimsy cover for RebeUion. The Contest is not be-

172 JAMES MURKAY, LOYALIST

tween Ministers and the Colonies, but between Par-
liament and the Colonies ; and whichever of them
conquers will be the Sovereign Power. The Mer-
chants were under a necessity of petitioning to keep
up appearances with their Correspondents on your
side the Atlantic. Their wishes for Remittances
militate against their consciousness of their Duty.
But they are far from being insensible, that then-
property will be only nominal in the Colonies, if the
Rights of Parliament are not vigorously preserved
and supported. But I have done. I have been led
further than I intended. Be not surprised at what-
ever may happen. . . .

In Charles Stewart of London, who was a connec-
tion of the family, Mr. Murray had a most excellent
friend. It was he who at a later date attended to
the procuring of Mr. Murray's salary as collector
and who performed manifold business offices. After
the affair of the fifth of March he had written to his
kinsman, begging hun to hold himseM aloof from
pubHc affairs. Mr. Murray replied as follows : —

JAMES M0EBAY TO CHARLES STEWART.

Milton, Sept' 3^ 1770.
Dear Sir, — Please to accept of my hearty
thanks for your friendly Letter of the 1'' May. The
Caution you kindly give, I should be ready to ob-
serve, did I see things in the Light you see them
for me ; but as you are not on the Spot, you can-
not imagine what good the Resolution of one man

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 173

miglit do, guided by temper and prudence and sup-
ported as it would be. And to say the Truth I
should have more pleasure in one day aiding & vin-
dicating even one good and Innocent Person un-
justly attacked than in drawling out in inglorious
ease a number of these years such as I may expect.
You may call this Quixotism if you will. Be it so.
It is a Spirit, however, that our Superiours on both
sides of the Atlantic seem to want, else they would
not suffer Government and the friends of Govern-
ment to be insulted as they daily are. After aU I
must own that Administration passing over in
Silence & with contempt the American combina-
tions against Importation of British goods has had
a better effect than would a Severe law to check
them. These they are now heartly sick of, & the
Trade will probably be quite open by the Spring.

In a former Letter I took the liberty to recom-
mend it to you to supply M" Mein with a hun-
dred pounds, not doubting he would be able to
reimburse you, if he lived a twelve month. Late
Advices from him tell us that he cannot bring his
Creditors to agree to come in share & share, so it
will be catch that catch can, & the court and Law-
yers will sweep their part. In this State of things
I thought it incumbent on me to take a bill of par-
cels for a number of Saleable books in Sheets to
the amount of that Sum to secure you, if you have
advanced him that money. If you have not, you
may if you please Lodge the Sum in a friend's hand
for him to be paid when these books shall be turnd

174 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

into Cash, and let his Eeceipt appear here ; if you
think a man perhaps too resolute and Zealous de-
serves a Subsistence whose fine business and for-
tunes have fallen a Sacrifice to the Eage & Malice
of faction.

In the mean time the skies were darkening above
Christian Barnes's head, and her husband,* like Mr.
Meins, claimed Mr. Murray's sympathy. On March
13, 1770, Mrs. Barnes wrote to Mrs. Smith : —

" The vile town of Marlboro have this day put
up a notification to warn the inhabitants to Town
Meeting to Vote against importation of English
Goods. It does not give us much uneasiness, for
as a Guilty Conscience needs no accuser so con-
scious Innocence fears none."

Later she continued : —

^ " Henry Barnes resided in the east village, in the house known as
the Cogswell House, which he built in 1763. He was a man of con-
siderable property, and one of the largest taxpayers in the town. He
left Marlborough early in 1775, and repaired to Boston to take shel-
ter under the protection of the King's troops. An act was passed in
1778 forbidding all persons who had left the State and gone over to
the enemy returning to their former homes ... In this act Henry
Barnes is expressly mentioned. His property was confiscated. . . .
He was in England with his family in 1777, and died in London
1808, aged 84." History of Marlborough, by Charles Hudson, p. 156.
" As early as 1770 the people of the town condemned Henry Barnes
as an importer who brought goods into the country contrary to the
agreement of the patriotic and self-sacrificing merchants of Bos-
ton and vicinity, and solemnly agreed that they would not trade
with him. Subsequently, when in 1775 General Gage sent his spies
to Worcester to sketch the topography of the country, they sought
his house as a place of refuge, where they supposed themselves per-
fectly safe." Ibid.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 175

MES. BAKNES TO ELIZABETH SMITH.

June, 1770.

Dear Mad'm, — It is long since I have dabbled
in politics, and sorry I am to resume the subject.
. . . Nor would I now trouble you with it but that
I want to vent myself, and, as Mrs. Barclay says,
" To whom shall I complain if not to you ? "

The spirit of discord and confusion which has
prevailed with so much violence in Boston has now
begun to spread itself into the country. These
poor deluded people with whom we have lived so
long in peace and harmony have been influenced by
the Sons of Eapin to take every method to distress
us. At their March meeting they entered into
resolves simular to those you have often seen in the
Boston newspapers. At their next meeting they
chose four inspectors, — men of the most vioulent
disposition of any in the town, — to watch those
who should purchase goods at the store, with intent
that their names should be recorded as enimes to
their country. This did not deter those from com-
ing who had not voted to the resolves. These were
chiefly young people who were not qualified to vote
in their town meeting. When they saw their mea-
sures had not the desired effect, and that our cus-
tom still encreased, they fixed a paper upon the
meeting house, impowering and adviseing these un-
qualified voters to caU a meeting of their own and
enter into the same resolves with the other. This
was a priviledg they had never enjoyed, and, fond
of their new-gotten power, hastened to put it in

176 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

execution, summoned a meeting, chose a moderator,
and, by the direction of those who sat them to
work, resolves were drawn up, but not yet passed.

While all this was in agitation there was great
outrages committed and insults offered to the im-
porters in Boston, so that some of them have been
compelled to quit the town, as not only their pro-
perty but their lives were in danger. Nor are we
whoUy free from apprehensions of this like treet-
ment, for they have already begun to commit out-
rages. The first thing that fell a sacrifice to their
mallace and revenge was the coach, which caused so
much decention between us. This they took the
cushings out of and put them in the brook, and the
next night cut the carriage to pieces. Not long
after they broke the windows at the Pearl Ash
Works. It is said that a young gentleman who has
formilly headed the mob in Boston and now resides
with us is the perpetrator of all this mischief, but I
will not believe it until I have further profe.

The greatest loss we have as yet met with was by
a mob in Boston, who, a few nights ago, attacked a
wagon-load of goods which belonged to us. They
abused the driver, and cut a bag of pepper, letting
it all into the street ; then gathered it up in their
handkerchiefs and hatts, and carried it off. The
rest of the load they ordered back iuto the publick
store, of which the Well Disposed Commity keeps
the key. Mr. Barnes has applied to the Left. Gov-
ernor for advice, and he advised him to put in a
petition to the general court. He then repaired

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 177

to Mr. Murray and begged his assistance in the
drawing of it up. He compUed with his request,
and it is to be lade before the House next week. . . .
The 10th of June the unquahfied voters had a
meeting, and the next day an effigy was hung upon
a hill in sight of the House, with a paper pinned to
the breast, whereon was wrote, " Henry Barnes," as
infamous importer. This hung up all day, and
at night they burnt it. A few nights after they
stole the covering from the wagon, which was
tarred to secure the goods from the weather, and
the same night stole a man's horse from a neigh-
boring stable. They dressed an image in this
wagon covering, tarred the horse, saddle and bridle,
placed the image upon his back, and set him loose
about the town, with an infamous paper pinned to
the breast, which was summed up with wishing of
us all in hell. But still finding that their malace
had no efEect, they made a bold push and dropped
an incendiary letter. ... It is not possible for me
to express what I suffered upon the perusal of this let-
ter. I could not recollect any one person that we
had ever injured or even wished iU to, nor could I
imagine such villany ever entered into the heart of
man. Mrs. Murray and Miss Polly had been paying
us a vissit of a few days, and were just setting off
for Brush HiU when the letter was found. Mr.
Barnes detained them while he wrote a copy of it,
and sent it to Governor Hutchinson. The ladys
had not been gone many minutes when I received
a letter from Miss Cummings, which was far from

178 JAMES MUERAT, LOYALIST

being a cordial to my drooping spirits. She writes
me word that one of the McMasters had heen carted
out of town at noonday in a most ignominious man-
ner, and that the other two brothers had fled for their
lives. That the news arrived by Hall had revived
the spirit of the other party to such a degree that
they had everything to fear, and that it was every-
body's opinion poor Preston would be hanged. This
is the officer who is in jail for the unhappy affair on
the fifth of March.

A gentleman arrived from Boston in the evening
and told us that Mr. Hulton's windows had been
broke and the family had fled to the castle for pro-
tection. You may judge what sleep I had that
night, and, indeed, ever since we have sleept in such
a manner that it can hardly be called rest. It is the
business of the evening to see the firearmes loaded,
and lights properly placed in the store and house ;
and this precaution we have taken ever since we
received the letter. . . .

June 29. Last night young Nat Coffin came
from Boston to pay us a vissit, and he brings this
account : That a trader about eleven miles above
us, one Cutler, was bringing out a load of goods,
and had got about six miles out of town, when a
party from Boston persued him and brought him
back in his wagon. ... It seems he had purchased
some tea in Boston, which the Commity have pro-
hibited any one to deal in. . . . My cousin likewise
informs us that on Monday last Mr. Fleming shut
up his printing office and fled to the castle for
protection.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 179

July 1st. The afEair of Cutler turned out in hav-
ing his goods seized and committed to the publick
store, because he had purchased them of Mr. LiUie,
an importer. I look upon all goods seized and com-
mited to that store as much forfeited to the owner
as if they were in the bottom of the sea. For they
begin to talk of selling them at vendue, and distrib-
uteing the money to the poor. This will make the
poor, as they call them, very assidious in sei2ang
everything that comes in their way, and will likewise
deter people from purchasing of importers, a thing
which they have never yet been able to bring to
pass.

July the 5. ... I received a letter this morning
from Miss Ame, who acquaints me that Mrs. Murray
is just come to town in high spirits and bespoke a
new pair of stays to make an appearence when the
troops arrive, which she says she is every hour in
expectation off. . . . Mr. Barnes had offered all his
real estate to sale. I hope he will meet with a
purchaser.

Between the years 1770 and 1775 the letters con-
tain little of public interest. Some of those written
during the interval have been given in the preceding
chapter, which closed with the marriage of Mrs.
Smith to Mr. Inman, and the return to Massachu-
setts of Mrs. Forbes. To take up the thread of the
narrative from that point ; Mrs. Inman went to pre-
side over Mr. Inman's establishment in Cambridge,
a mansion-house having so many farm buildings,

180 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

stables, servants' quarters, etc., that it seemed like a
little settlement in itself, standing in the angle of
the road from Phip's farm on Lechmere's Point,
just where the road turned to the right to run
toward the college. Mr. Inman kept his coach and
liveried servants, and to his house the British offi-
cers often went, for his young people were attrac-
tive and his hospitahty was generous. He had been
a Boston merchant, but was now retired. He had
also acted as agent for Sir Charles Henry Frank-
land. Stretching away from the mansion house
were " green fields and fragrant pine woods," while
a willow-shaded pond and lanes blossoming with
thorn and locust trees made the estate one of espe-
cial beauty.^ Within the roomy, low-ceilinged house,
with its immense fireplaces, spacious cupboards,
rambling passages, and secret closets, Mrs. Inman
received her husband's friends and. her own, and
maintained the old mansion's accustomed state.

Mr. Murray obtained, some time after returning
from the London visit referred to in the last chapter,
the appointment of inspector of the port of Salem.
As his letters-say nothing of his duties in connection
with the post, they cannot have been arduous. On
such public matters as the throwing overboard of the
tea, in 1773, the departure of Hutchinson for Eng-
land, and the coming of Gage to Boston in 1774, he
is also silent. It may be that letters were written
that have since been lost, but it is undoubtedly true
that great prudence crept into his correspondence.
' S. A. Drake, Historic Fields and Mansions of Middlesex.

Q

5

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 181

He would rarely do more than refer his friends to
the newspapers of the day for any public occurrences,
and confined himself as much as possible to his own
private affairs. Yet events were hastening toward
a crisis.

In February, 1775, the Barneses were plunged
into difficulties by an unsought visit from Captain
Brown and Ensign De Berniere, scouts sent out by
Gage, in preparation for the momentous 19th of
April, to examine the country over which he expected
to lead a victorious expedition, which should sweep
away disloyalty from the " peasant " ranks. De
Berniere's account is graphic. The hungry officers
had barely seated themselves at Mrs. Barnes's table
when they were obhged to fly by a back door out
again into the stormy night. They were scarcely
gone when thundering knocks at the front of the
house heralded the entrance of the Committee of
Safety, who searched the rooms and warned the ter-
rified family that the walls should be pulled about
their heads if they ever harbored Tories again. In
a letter, written, evidently, after De Berniere's visit,
and when the British troops were known to be on
the eve of marching out into the country, Mrs.
Inman offered Mrs. Barnes a refuge in Cambridge.

" Mr. & Mrs. Deblois's account of the treatment
you are likely to meet with," she said, " has taken
up my attention and made me very uneasy. You
know I am no coward, but I would not put myself
in the power of desperate people. The Governor I
do not doubt will do everything in his power to pro-

182 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

tect, but he cannot prevent fears. Therefore, I beg
the favor of you to fly to Cambridge, where I shall
be happy to see you. A few weeks will answer,
pray indulge me in this request. A Regiment going
through your town will alarm them, I think they will
all run away ; they will help settle the Country and
learn our people to be good soldiers."

Whether or not Mrs. Barnes accepted the invita-
tion at that time, it is certain that she was in Cam-
bridge just before the battle of Lexington, and re-
turned home on the eventful day itself, reaching
Marlborough in safety, though the entire country-
side was in motion with messengers and militia.

Not a word of comment from the Murrays on
what must to them have been the astounding re-
sult of that April march has come down to us.
But, indeed, to see the King's troops chased hotly
back from Concord, and seeking refuge in Boston
from the rebels, may well have struck good loyaKsts
dumb.

Immediately after the 19th of April, that is, by
the 22d, Boston was shut up and Cambridge was be-
come the camp of the American army. The British
army and the Tories within the lines and the patriots
and their friends without were separated by the
guards of both sides, stationed about half a mile
apart on Roxbury Neck, and by American guards in
Charlestown. No one could go in or out without a
pass, and any communication was subject to strict
scrutiny. In the town were Mr. Inman, Mr. and
Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Forbes and her children, and

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 183

Elizabeth and Annie Murray. Mary Murray had re-
turned to England, while her brother John was in
Providence. Outside, Mrs. Inman, with only John
Inness Clark and her servants, stood by the Cam-
bridge farm, though it was virtually in the posses-
sion of the Provincials. She had many friends
among the patriots, and stood favorably in the
public eye as a woman intent on minding her own
business and attending to her husband's affairs and
property. General Mifflin knew her and her nieces
personally, and she also had some acquaintance with
other officers on the American side.^

On the very day that Boston was closed she wrote
to her friends within the lines, describing her situa-
tion.

ELIZABETH INMAN TO HEE FEIENDS IN BOSTON.

Cambridge, 22°" April, 1775.

I have the pleasure to tell my dear friends that I
am well as are all under this roof.

1 Among these was doubtless to be numbered Colonel (afterwards
General) Knox. His wife, who was a daughter of Thomas Flucker,
a distinguished Tory, was an intimate friend of Mr. Inman 's daugh-
ter Susan. In spite of her father's politics Lucy Flucker had married
the young rebel, who, at that time (1774), had a flourishing bookstore
opposite Williams Court in Cornhill, a fashionable morning resort at
that time for the British officers and the Tory ladies. Harrison
Gray Otis says that Miss Lucy " was distinguished as a young lady of
high intellectual endowments, very fond of books, especially of the
books sold by Knox, to whose shelves she had frequent recourse,
and on whose premises was kindled, as the story went, ' the guiltless
flame ' which was destined to burn on the hymeneal altar." The
Fluckers were of a French Huguenot family who came to America
from England. Life of Henry Knox, by Noah Brooks, p. 12.

184 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

You know how fond I am of grandeur. I have
acted many parts in hf e, but never imagined I should
arrive at the muckle honor of being a General ; that
is now the case. I have a guard at the bottom of
the Garden, a number of men to patrol to the Marsh,
and round the farm, with a body guard that now
covers our kitchen parlor, and [now at] twelve
o'clock they are in a sweet sleep, while Miss Den-
forth and I are in the middle parlor with a board
nailed across the door to protect them from harm.
The kitchen doors are also nailed. They have the
closet for their guns. The end door is now very
useful. Our servants we put to bed at half past
eight. The women and children have all left Cam-
bridge, so we are thought wonders. You know I
have never seen troubles at the distance many others
have, and as a reward the Gods have granted me a
Mentor ^ and a Guardian Angel of three years of age.
They are now in bed together. Pray let their friends

1 Judge Danforth was often affectionately referred to by Mrs.
Inman as Mentor. He was an old resident of Cambridge, and
had served the town and the province all his life. He was for
thirty-six years, from 1739 to 1774, member of the Council ; in
the last year he was appointed mandamus councilor, but was " in-
duced to resign." Among other posts which he held were those of
judge of probate and judge of common pleas. When the Revo-
lution began he passed out of office, but though he was well under-
stood to be a royalist, his property was not touched.

He had two sons, Samuel, an eminent physician in Boston, after-
ward president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and Thomas,
a lawyer in Charlestown until the Revolution, when he fled to Eng-
land.

The child mentioned in the letter must have been one of Judge
Danforth's grandchildren.

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 185

know he is better and she very well. Mentor bids
me teU you that we have nothing to fear but from
the troops landing near us. These matters you '11
know more of than we do ; therefore we shall wait
till we hear from you again, which we hope wiU be
time enough to make a safe retreat. There is not
one servant will stay if I go. Poor Creatures, they
depend on me for protection, and I do not chuse to
disappoint them : as far as it is in my power I will
protect them.

This day we had a visit of an officer from our
headquarters with written orders to our guards to
attend in a very particular manner to our directions.
He said we were the happiest folks he had seen.
To convince you of that I '11 tell you how we are
employed. Jack ^ is ia the garden, the others are
planting potatoes. We intend to make fence and
plant Corn next week. To show you the goodness
of the people, they say we may have what provisions
we want. Mentor we have raised above us. His
Walks are in the upper chambers.

Boyd was here to-day. Mrs. Barnes is well, got
home safe Wednesday.^

Mr. Temple.

Dear Sir : — I am much obliged to you for the
trouble you have taken : if you think it prudent
you '11 direct this to Mr. Inman, if not let hitn know
as much as you think proper. Half an hour past

1 John Murray.

2 Wednesday was the 19th of April.

186 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

twelve o'clock, a cloudy morning. All well. I '11
call our watch. We are sleepy, don't think us
drunk. We keep nothing but water and Spruce
beer. That is delivered freely.

Adieu every one of you.
Saturday morning, 6 o'clock. We have had a
quiet night and are all in good spirits.

From Mrs. Barnes, at Marlborough, at this trying
juncture came appeals for help.

MES. BAENES TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

(Without date, probably Boon after April 22, 1775.)

My dear Mrs. Inman was ever my best friend, she
appears now to be my only one. It was surely my
good angel that detained you in Cambridge to com-
fort and console me under the heaviest affliction that
I ever encountered. Your first letter was as a cor-
dial to a dying person. Your second gave me still
greater relief. I yesterday sent Circular letters to
the Selectmen petitioning them to meet at our [store]
to consult and advise me what method I should take
to procure Mr. Barnes' return and to convince them
his stay in Boston was not intended. They came
according to my request. I read them Mr. Barnes'
letter which I received on Thursday night by the
post, wherein he laments his not being able to get
home. I likewise read them your first letter. They
appeared satisfied and highly pleased with your con-
duct. They assured me I need be under no appre-
hension from the towns people, and gave it as their

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 187

opinion that neither my person nor interest should
be injured. I returned them many thanks for their
civility, but had I one line from General Putnam it
would be a surer protection for me than anything
in their power to offer. . . .

(No date.)

If you are a friend of Col. Putnam ^ I wish you
could influence him so far in my favor that he would
prevent his troops from molesting me on their return.
I have shown them every civility in my power on
their way down and shall continue to do so. I thank
you from my heart for your kind invitation and
offer of protection, but no one knows where they are
safest at this time. I have placed a confidence in
the people of this town by returning home, and
Mr. Barnes will do the same whenever it is in his
power. . • .

Tuesday morning, April [2]9th.

It is now a week since I had a line from my dear
Mrs. Inman, in which time I have had some severe
trials, but the greatest terror I was ever thrown into
was on Sunday last. A man came up to the gate
and loaded his musket, and before I could determine
which way to run he entered the house and demanded
a dinner. I sent him the best I had upon the table.
He was not contented, but insisted upon bringing

* By Colonel Putnam Mrs. Barnes probably means General Put-
nam's son, Daniel, who seems to have been at times quartered at Mrs.
Inman's house, though the letters speak oftener of Colonel Sargent.
General Putnam's occupancy of the Inman house must have been
delayed until after the battle of Bunker Hill, when Mrs. Inman
removed to Milton.

188 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

in his gun and dining with me ; this terrified the
young folks, and they ran out of the house. I went
in and endeavored to pacify him by every method
in my power, but I found it was to no purpose. He
still continued to abuse me, and said when he had eat
his dinner he should want a horse and if I did not
let him have one he would blow my brains out. He
pretended to have an order from the General for one
of my horses, but did not produce it. His language
was so dreadful and his looks so frightful that I
could not remain in the house, but fled to the store
and locked myself in. He followed me and declared
he would break the door open. Some people very
luckily passing to meeting prevented his doing any
mischief and staid by me until he was out of sight,
but I did not recover from my fright for several
days. The sound of drum or the sight of a gun put
me into such a tremor that I could not command
myself. I have met with but little molestation since
this affair, which I attribute to the protection sent
me by Col. Putnam and Col. Whitcomb. I returned
them a card of thanks for their goodness tho' I knew
it was thro' your interest I obtained this favor. . . .
The people here are weary at his absence [Mr.
Barnes's], but at the same time give it as their opin-
ion that he could not pass the guards. ... I do
not doubt but upon a proper remonstrance I might
procure a pass for him through the Camp from our
two good Colonels. ... I know he must be very
unhappy in Boston. It was never his intention to
quit his family. . . .

A TOKY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 189

In her plucky defense of the Cambridge farm Mrs.
Inman seems to have been left quite alone and almost
without advice. Her husband's letters, even, were
uncertain and weak. The following, from him, was
probably written soon after the closing of the town.

BALPH INMAN TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Saturday noon, 1775.

My DEAR Mrs. Inman. — I have sent this to my
friend Mr. Thomas Russell to get conveyed to you,
who will forward to me any of your Letters or what
you send down, and if you Incline to come yourself
I dont doubt he will conduct you safe. There is
no danger of sending Jack from Cambridge, but
none must come over that Expects to return, as
there is no Passing any way from Boston, and I am
of Opinion that you are Safe at Cambridge as in
Boston.^ But I know you are more capable of
Judging for your Self than any Directions I can
give. The young Ladys are well and in good Spirits.
George ^ is got almost well tho' not abroad yet. Mrs.
Rowe and Mrs. Linzee^ are also well.
I am Dear Mrs. Inman

Yours

' " A part of the agreement with Gage was that the country Tories
should be allowed to move into Boston." Winsor, Nar. §■ Crit. Hist.
Warren tried to get permission for patriots to come out, but they
were kept in as hostages.

2 Probably George Inman, Mr. Inman's son.

8 Mrs. Linzee, wife of Captain Linzee, who commanded the Brit-
ish man-of-war Falcon, was Mr. Inman's daughter, Susannah. S. A.
Drake, in his Historic Fields and Mansions of Middlesex, p. 187,

190 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Even to obtain permission for a hasty interview
at the lines, in the presence of witnesses, was often
difficult, and, as Mrs. Inman says in the next letter,
it did not do to write much when sending notes back
and forth. It is often guesswork to try to extract
from the guarded expressions used in the letters that
did pass the meaning of the writers, yet some inci-
dents may be gleaned, and the general f eehng of the
situation is strongly indicated by the fragmentary,
interrupted correspondence. Sometimes Mrs. In-
man's patience gave out, as she shows in the ensu-
ing:—

ELIZABETH INMAN TO EALPH INMAN.

Boston, Thursday, April 27th, 1775.

Dear Sir, — We have heard by G. Putnam that
Boston was to be open'd and all that chose to come
out had leave off, so I hope you will make us a visit.
Your advice is much wanted. If things are to con-
tinue in this situation a week or months, your Farm
must be put into other hands. It will not suit me
to stay here after Judge Denforth moves, and he is
to have a pass to-day to go where and when he
pleases.

If the report should be false about Boston being
open, I should be glad to see you at Mr. Russell's.
No doubt you can have leave to come over the
ferry.

says : " John Linzee met with Sukey Inman ... in some Royalist
coterie, — and Eke as not at the house of her bosom friend, Lucy
Flucker."

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 191

I send this by a boy who can inform you very
particularly how we have lived and managed since
you left us. It will not do to write much. Adieu.

Boyd was here all night. Mrs. Barnes is very
well and writes in fine spirits. Every thing there goes
on finely. She wants rum and sugar sadly. Cap-
tain Ward has gone up, and has orders from head
quarters to protect her.

In a few days, however, she had recovered her
equanimity and was prepared to add the Brush HOI
farm to her cares, not doubting that she could se-
cure protection for that also. The stress of the
time is felt in every Hne of her letters, even when
she pauses to note her blossoming thorn.

ELIZABETH INMAN TO EALPH INMAN.

Cambkidge, Sunday, April 30th, 1775.

Dbae Sir, — It has ever given me pleasure to
study your happiness & to do everything that I
thought was for your interest. I have try'd this
week past to see and consult with you what you
thought most proper to be done, but aU in vain.
This morning I rose at 5 o'clock, sent G. Speakman
for a Pass to go and return before dinner. He
Brought me the inclosed. By it my jaunt was
stop'd. What to do I know not. This place will
not do for me to make a home of for reasons Doc-
tor Danforth ^ will give you. Complaining is not a
failing of mine you well know. If agreeable to you

* Son of the judge.

192 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

do advise with Mr. Murray and Dolly. If he will
consent to let her go with me to Brush-hiU with her
children, I can visit this place as often as I please
and see that everything is done properly and take
your and his directions in every respect. Dolly need
not he afraid. I'll have a proper protection for
Brush-hiU, her & hers. I do not doubt you and
my Brother wiU protect Mrs. Hooper and the young
Ladys. No pass to carry hay in. If DoUy comes
out, I shall want Loaf and Brown sugar &c. Ask
the Col. to answer the Letter I sent him. Talk to
the Doctor about horses and carriages. Job is in
want of 20 or 30 pounds 0. T. Betty is my Banker,
any stores that are wanted may go to Brush-hiU, I
can have them from there. Please send out Jack's
Clothes. He is obhged to wear a broad Cloth coat
to work in. Did you get the handkerchiefs and
two caps I sent by the white boy ? I send a night
shirt by the Doctor. Pray let Anny have your linen
washed often till I can send more. . . .

Monday morn.

Pray Anne to make me a frame for a cap with
wire and catgut. I 'U put the musUn on it myself.
If she does not know what I mean, Betzy does.

Oiu- thorn tree tells me the day of the month.
How diffrent to what the last was, and how diffrent
its appearance to the noise I hear from the other
room. I hope it is all for the best and matters
vdll be settled soon. Pray Mrs. Rowe to kill her
calf, I will not rob her of it these times. Ask Doc-

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 193

tor Danforth what news from Mrs. Barnes ? If
you have tap'd the rum, please to have it drawn ofE
or filled up again. It will waste very fast if you
do not.

Tuesday. — I this moment received yours by cry-
ing Molly. The Doctor cannot go, as he waits on
his Father to Chelsy. At the hues, I 'U meet you
to-morrow at ten o'clock. Would be glad to see
our good Col. with you. Do not be uneasy about
us, we laugh one half the day and Listen the other.

Adieu.

The exact details of the "affair" that the next
communication alludes to are not positively known.
The letters indicate that some of her servants aroused
suspicion against her good faith, and that a party
of soldiers came to arrest her. She was able, if this
surmise is correct, to summon to her aid those who
had authority to interfere, and was left unmolested.

ELIZABETH ESTMAN TO EALPH INMAN.

[Cambridge, May 6, 1775.]
Dear Sir,-;- I have looked over your notes very
carefully, and in every one of them I discover that
you would rather I could stay in the Country than
move to town. It gives me pleasure to know that
is your opinion, as an affair happened the day after
I saw you that put it out of my power to stir from
this. The affair I fear is too serious for me to
write. I '11 send you a letter Betsy wrote to Mrs.
Barnes. I have often told you Job was not a

194 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

proper person to be in your family after his beha-
vior last summer. No doubt you '11 be convinced of
it now. The way that I had settled matters the
morning I saw you was only to give them the use
of the kitchen, the rooms over it, with Miss Sally's
room. Now Caty can tell you how we manage. I
beg you '11 insist on her coming out of Town again.
She is aU the security I have for a safe retreat. Mr.
Sargent is one of the best men you can imagine,
but his business may hurry him into duty in a mo-
ment. Then what wiU become of us God only
knows.

Jack Clark has been to see me, and offered to
send Providence wagons to move us stock and block
to a place of safety, but I had given my word. By
that I must abide.

Your servants and intrest I will protect as far as
it is in my power. These affairs must be entirely
your own, as there is not a word said in Boston but
what returns here. My letters to you have been
misrepresented .

I wish your friends had consented to your meet-
ing me at Mr. Russells, as I earnestly desired ; i£
you had, many, if not all these diflBcultys might
have been prevented.

Mrs. Forbes and her children joined Mrs. Inman
in Cambridge, in this month. May. At that time
rumors as to what Burgoyne, Clinton, and Howe
would do when they arrived in Boston were rife.
An attack on the army at Cambridge was not un-

A TORY EST REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 195

reasonably expected of the generals, who required
" elbow room." Mr. Murray was alarmed for the
safety of the Cambridge household, and begged his
sister to leave aU and join him in the town.

JAMES MUEKAT TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Boston, May 17, 1775.

Dear Sister, — As I do not expect another
opportunity than this of speaking my mind to you
while you remain in the Country, I must now tell
you that you cannot with any regard to your own
safety or our peace continue out much longer. The
whole re-enforcement expected will be here in all this
month at furthest. Cambridge will be the first
object, and in no part round the Town will the Tory
houses be spared by the Natives, whether they be
Conquerors or Conquered. Elated pride or despair-
ing rage wiU operate to the destruction of all our
property who take sanctuary in the Town, and par-
ticularly of such who determine to carry arms in
defence of the Town. In this view your second
scheme of a retreat for yourself or Dolly at Brush-
hUl seems improper, and sending off Crane in a pet,
however necessary it might be at another time, will
tend to set his Liberty Connections against the farm
with greater Violence.

As to provisions here, which they tell me you are
in pain about, there will be no want ; plenty there is
of flour, salt pork, Indian Corn and fish.

Inclosed is a copy of what I wrote to Dolly by
Crane. He may justly think it hard to dismiss him

196 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

without discharging his last year's wages ; and that,
if I could, I do not choose to do till I see some
account of what has heen in his charge. By
some management among them, my farm account
book wherein his and Badcock's account was enter'd
which was in my Closet is not to be found. If
Badcock has it not in keeping, it is of no use to
those who took the other goods.

We shall take frequent opportunities of sending
the boy Lewis over the ferry with open Letters.
There is some difficulty indeed of getting a pass for
his Return, but that will be overcome.

By the next day, however, Mrs. Inman had con-
vinced both her brother and her husband that Bos-
ton was not her best refuge. Mr. Murray's letter
of May 18 is prompt and decisive. Mr. Inman's,
of the morning after, is wavering and astonishingly
vague as to local geography.

JAMES MURRAY TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Boston, Thursday, May 18, 1775.

Dear Sistee, — In answer to your Letter of this
day, proposing for the Quiet of your Friends here
several places of Retreat, upon Considering all of
them. Brush-hill seems the best, tacking the Stough-
ton house to it. I mean, to have a bed ready there
and some few necessaries that will serve you both
for an airing at times and a remoter Retreat upon
Emergency. You may have, when you will, every-
thing from town that is allowed to anybody else,

A TORY EST REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 197

and may be permitted, I suppose, to carry your own
Stores thither. The Mode of Communication with
us must be, either by sending a boy (not Badcock
or Crane or anybody else that has been in Arms)
with or without a Team & a letter to me, to be at
the Lines before 12 o' Clock at noon, directed to the
care of Capt. Bowen or Mr. Benjamin Davis, on daily
Service there, who come into dinner at that hour and
will deliver the Letter to me at the Custom House ;
or on certain days I may have a boy at the Lines in
the forenoon, to bring me any open Letter that shall
come. Another advantage of Brush-hill, you may
carry both Mr. Inman's stock and mine there and
dispose of them between the two farms, or probably
Seth Sumner, who has hired Trot's pasture this
year, will be glad to have his bargain taken o£B his
hands for the Season. Dolly and her Children will
be your attendants there. My Love to them and
Miss Goldthwait and Compliments to your kind Pro-
tector, Colonel Sargent.

EALPH INMAN TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Boston, Friday morning [May 19], 1775.

Dear Madam, — Your memorandum I have read
carefully over, and am of opinion with that worthy
gentlemen that the women and children that do not
like to be confined in a Town are to secure a safe
retreat in time of danger. Your Brother has given
his opinion. Mine is for Limester,^ but would
have you follow your own inclinations and you '11

* Leominster.

198 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

please me, only let me know where you go to, that
I may make connections to get you supplied with
the necessarys you may want for your subsistence. I
have no other conveyance than by Mr. Hopkins, by
whom can send a line every day, an open letter to be
at Mr. Gary's about the hour you mentioned. I am
not able to give you any advice, for if you cannot
be benefited by the Farm it will not be worth while
to be at any more expense about it. Let it take its
chance with the rest ; the delicasys of its produce
vrill be worth the attention of some care to those
that reaps the fruits of it so as not to destroy it.
Could not you send me one load of the most unneces-
sary articles, . . . and give a day or twos notice,
that a permitt may be got. The Ladies are well
and got pretty well composed. Adieu.

Lemenstone I take to be in this Province about
20 mUes wide of Mulborough, but if it should be
in the other Provinces I cannot give my opinion ;
you must act your own judgement.

Yet another scheme formed itself in Mrs. Inman's
brain. Mrs. Forbes was taking upon her shoulders
the care of the Brush Hill farm, that it might at
least yield them food and some support. But Mrs.
Inman could not bear with equanimity the thought
of a continued separation. Had the plan of a re-
moval to St. Johns, spoken of in the two letters
given below, been carried out, Mr. Murray would
have had his daughters and sister with him for the
remainder of his life.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 199

DOROTHY FOKBES TO JAMES MURRAY.

May 20th, 1775.

My Dear Papa, — I was at Brush-liill yesterday,
found the Account Book you mentioned and send
it by Mrs. Head. My Aunt thinks i£ she goes to
B-hill it will not do for Crane and her Servants to
be there together, and indeed there will not be room
for them all. She has told Crane he must get a
place, and that [she] will employ him whenever there
is any work for him. Please to send his Account
and let us know what agreement you have made
with Badcock and if it would not be best to let him
plant potatoes and corn by the halves. The hay,
should we stay, we can take care of ourselves. My
Aunt's sheep are gone to the farm, and we propose
having them and yours washed and shear'd next
week ; after which they are to be sent to Stoughton,
and Fesendon is to go up and see that there is good
pasture for them. I am very anxious to know how
you keep your health. I fear salt provision will
not agree with you. Wish it was in my power to
send you some fresh, but find it wiU not do to at-
tempt it.

Mrs. Head returns on Tuesday — pray write by
her. Be very particular about yourself, as perhaps
it may be the last time we can hear from you. Our
friendly Colonel ^ wishes much Mr. Inman and you
were with us to enjoy the Country air — says he
would do everything in his power to make you
happy, but that 's a pleasure we cannot expect to

^ Colonel Sargent.

200 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

enjoy at present. Please to send us by Mrs. Head
some paper, pens, sealing wax, and the key of your
little trunk.

The Boys are in good health and spirits — are
constantly out with the men. Please make my
duty, love and compliments where due, and beliey^
me to be

Your dutiful & affectionate Daughter,

D. FOKBBS.

P. S. — I shall go next week to take an account
of the tools and grain on the farm.

My Aunt has just been writing a new plan to
Mr. Inman, which, if you and he approve of, we
think we could have it more in our power to assist
you, and she says it signifies nothing living unless
we can find some way to support you in a more
agreeable manner than you are at present. You
may imagine that affairs will be shortly settled, but
it appears very different to us here ; and we think,
were we to go to St. Johns, we might have it in our
power to see you more frequently. However you
know best. Shoxdd you approve, would it not be
Best to Leave the farm in the same hands Mr. Inman
does his ?

My Aunt begs Mr. Inman and you would con-
sider of this and send her an answer by Mrs. Head,
as she is anxious to know what she is to do.

A TORY IN KEVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 201

ELIZABETH INMAN TO EALPH INMAN.

Cambridge, May 20th, 1775.

Dear Sir, — I have thought of many different
plans. To be settled in a family way again would
be better than this. Perhaps you will imagine all
will be peace and quietness soon & we may settle at
our own home. I know too much to think so, and will
give you my opinion and beg the favor of you to
think seriously of it. It is to take the land that
Mr. Rowe has at St. Johns or any ones that you
can buy or hire there. I can move bag and bag-
gage and meet you at any port you chuse to sail
from. From there we could send off what stock,
where and when we pleased and have the necessa-
ries of life. Job ^ has rendered this place useless to
you and very disagreeable for any of your family to
live at. It will take much more than the profits of
it to keep the people tolerably civil, and when tax-
ing comes in fashion it will take it root and branch
unless you can leave it in the hands of some person
that is not suspected as you now are. I think if
you was to leave Mr. Fesenden, his wife and chil-
dren, Titus, Bill, Jack Marlebro' to take the hay
and all the crop of the ground under the direction
of Jack Clark, he would sell or export it to you. If
you like the Island Mr. Henshaw or the one that
Mr. Lloyd lived on better than anything I have pro-
posed, I beg you will do as you please. You very
wisely say it is terrible to live in Boston with so
large a family in these times when they can be sup-

1 Mr. Inman's negro man.

202 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

ported with little more than the stock and produce
of the farm, which stock and produce they must en-
tirely lose if some method is not taken. There is
no help for your horses heing pressed. I wish you
would say what must be done with them.

Mrs. Head who is the bearer of this will return
here on Monday or Tuesday. I earnestly entreat
you to consider what is to be done, as there is no
time to lose. By your letter I shall be determined
and act immediately upon it.

My compliments to Mr. Barnes. Tell him it is
not in my power to see or hear from Mrs. Barnes
unless I go up, which I will do, or send Mr. Put-
nam, if he has any particular business.

Adieu Dear Sir.

From this Island we could come and go where
we chose and return here at our leisure. . . .

Unconvinced, Mr. Murray still recommended
Brush HiU. The British reinforcements were
within two days of Boston when he wrote, " The
business of clearing the Neighborhood of this town
will not be so tedious." He anticipated the shelling
of the town, but was, as ever, "tranquil," and "at
ease."

JAMES MTIERAT TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Boston, May 23d, 1775.

Dear Sistee, — I received Dolly's affectionate
letter by Mrs. Head, and shall not fail to avail
myself of the opportunity of her return to speak my
mind, as you both wish and expect.

A TOEY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 203

Of all your Plans, that of St. Johns is the most out
of the way and improper. The business of clearing
the Neighborhood of this town will not be so
tedious. ... I should think it could be done in two
or three Weeks. The greater the numbers on your
side, without experienced Generals, as they are, the
greater will be the Confusion and the more total the
rout. One good EfEect of your Army's making a
Stand and taking their fate on the Spot may be to
prevent a general Devastation of the Country, which
both sides ought to deplore and wish to avoid.

Mr. Inman has show'd me what he writes you.
He leans to Point Shirley and thinks you may save
your Stock by driving it to Chelsea. I imagine that
will be out of your power, that as soon as any
attempt is perceived to save your Stock by putting it
out of the way of your Army or its Friends, so soon
will it be driven off or destroyed. Things are now
come to such extremity, the stock of both farms is
scarcely an object of attention. It is still my
opinion you will be most comfortable at Brush-hill
and as safe there as any where, even as safe as in
town, in case any shells are to be thrown upon us or
if we are to be set on fire by the Whigs within,
which many suspect. For my own part, I am as
tranquil, as much at my ease as ever you knew me,
from an entire Resignation to Providence and a firm
persuasion that all will end for the General good. I
have taken possession of Betsey's Chamber, laid my
bed on the floor ; my books, my old and (except
you and two or three more) the best friends now

204 JAMES MUREAY, LOYALIST

left to me, are ranged about the room ; my South
window has a fine prospect of Beacon-hill, Box's
rope Walks, the place destined for the Cavalry and
the 4th Reg-t Camp.

Salt provisions, to which we are not altogether

confined, agree better with me, eating a Quantity of

Eice, pudding or greens with it, than a hearty meal

of fresh victuals. I mention this because Dolly

_ pities us on that Score.

Having taken some pains to sohcit passes for
some of my Acquaintance and for several poor
people who would not have got them so readily
without me, I came to be noticed by my Friends,
the Tories, who raised a Clamour against me, par-
ticularly for interfering in the case of Mr. Boies,
who notwithstanding our Difference in poHtics, has
always been a good Neighbor to me. . . .

AU this family make no complaints of their fare,
think themselves very safe, and would be happier
were you and DoUy in a Situation as much to your
liking as this is to us. . . .

I think myself much obhged to your good Colonel
for his kind offers of protection and good entertain-
ment for your Husband and your Brother. In our
situation it would be highly improper to give him
trouble about us. I shall be happy, if, in the vicis-
situde of human Affairs, it may be in my power to
render him any Service. . . .

I told Crane to carry three barrels of Cider, a
present to Gen' Thomas at Roxbury, who has been
very pohte to me and my people. This I wrote the

■ A TOEY IN KEVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 205

Gen' of and desired his acceptance. Let Dolly see
that it be sent.

Between this and you at Brush-hill, the commu-
nication by boys will be easy, as I wrote you before,
as also for teams when wanted.

I have written to Lady Don, to Brother John and
Mr. Pringle by Callahan, who is still detained by
the Weather.

I send by Mrs. Head paper, pens and wax as Dolly
desired.

Adieu, may God bless, direct and preserve you
and yours.

In obedience to the advice she received, Mrs.
Inman began the slow process of removing her goods
and servants from Cambridge to Brush Hill.

ELIZABETH INMAN TO KALPH INMAN.

Cambridge, May 29 & 30tli, 1775.

Dear Sir, — To satisfy my friends I am about a
most disagreeable task, that of moving from a once
dehghtful home to wander God knows where. I
think it necessary to leave Fesenden, Titus and BiU,
the young Fesenden must go with us, he is too
young to leave among so much company.

Harry is anxious to go to town, I have told him he
wants so much nursing, milk, broth, greens &c that
you could not have him with you. He has desired
his foules and ducks may go with him and his trunk
&c ; if so he thinks he can be very happy where
I go. Bella Flue moves first. I went to Brush-

206 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

hill this morning. Crane is to move his family to
some part of Stoughton to-morrow. With Mr.
Boises advice I hired him at the same rates you
give Fesenden to assist in getting the hay and
crop. I intend he shall sleep in one end garret and
Fesenden in the other.

Col. Sargent is not at home. When he returns I
shall olfer him what part of the house he chuses.
I have thought very seriously of these matters ; I
hope the part I have acted will be agreeable to you.
Bill is to be Cook, Gardener and Housekeeper.

What is become of Judge Denforth and daugh-
ter? I fear they have been frighted.

Dear Sir/ — My aunt has been so busy in send-
ing off the goods to Brush-hill that she has not
time to finish her letter, desires me to let you know
she has sent Bill to return with the chaise carriage
that Jack went down with. He takes Jacks clothes
with him, who she does not expect to return to her
again.

I know it will be a satisfaction to hear we have
begun to move and I hope we shall soon have it in
our power to acquaint you We are settled at
Brush-hill, altho' I assure you it is with great reluc-
tance we leave this agreeable place. I wish it may
make you and the rest of our friends easy.

May 31st.^ — You was to have had this but Bill
brought it back again. Mr. & Mrs. Bacon carrys
this to the ferry and stay for letters from Mr.
Goldthwait.

^ Here Dorothy Forbes continues the letter.
' Here Mrs. Inman resumes.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON" 207

Pray write how you are. Have you shirts and
linen according to memorandum. Adieu.

The next letter is too complicated in its bearings
for any attempt at explanation. Its effect upon
Mr. Inman was disastrous.

ELIZABETH INMAN TO EALPH INMAN.

Cambridge, June 12th, 75.

Dear Sir, — On Thursday I received your kind
letter with the note inclosed for C. and N. Every
day convinces me more and more that you were in
the right not to mind my apprehensions when I
wrote to you to meet me at Mr. Russles.^ That
time I told you this would not do for a home for
me, four days after you sent me word you could not
meet me and advised me by all means to stay here.
This I own I thought cruel, and determined from
that moment to run all risks rather than come to
town, and as soon as I could I wrote for DoUy and
her children.

Told you complaining was not a crime of mine,
but here I could not sleep, promised to attend in the
day as often as possible, after that Jobs affair hap-
pened and Brush-hill was robb'd at that time. I
should certainly have stept into Boston if I had not
been denied that privilege, at a time when Judge
Denforth was to leave me alone among numbers
whose persons and manners I was entirely unac-
quainted with. The day after the good man left me
1 See letter of May 6, p. 193.

208 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

had like to have proved fatal, and if I had not been
roused beyond reason to have acted an uncommon
part, I mean calling gentlemen to turn away men
who had done nothing but their duty considering
the story Job told them,' do you imagine, desgusted
as I was at my setuation, I would have made Col.
Sargent a promise of staying here if he would pro-
tect me. No Sir that night you would have seen
me. Intrest would have been no concern of mine.
Since that I have been more calm. Rather than ap-
pear diill, I throw my anxiety off with a laugh, go
about and order things as if I was to stay here for
years, and at the same time I believe a few months
will deprive me the pleasure of giving you an
account of what your servants have done. Be that
as it will, I have done my best for your and your
familys intrest. I would leave this place directly,
but I hear our neighbor's Hay and crops are to be
taken in by those in power, therefore I am glad
Mrs. Sargent is coming down, it will be expensive,
but our creatures will starve if we do not save as
much as we can. You mention the hay, I have
thought a great deal of and think it will be prudent
to carry it to Brush-hill if I am allowed.

Do not be uneasy about me. Am glad you are
in town. Adieu.

1 See letter of May 6, p. 193.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 209

EALPH INMAN TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Tuesday Moen, 13th June, 1776.

Deae Madam, — How unhappy was I in the mis-
take I made in the pass to meet you at Mr. Russels.
It being directed for you instead of me was the rea-
son you did not see me, as none of my friends were
Knowing to it, neither did I pay any Regard on that
account. I k«ep it by me to show you when we
meet, which I hope in God will be soon, being too
much distrest to Continue any longer absent. It
never was my IncUnation to be separated for a mo-
ment, unless it was your own choice. What I have
said or done has been to Comply with what I thought
would be agreeable to you, for I assure you that my
Situation has wore me down, and I cannot continue
long to be so much distrest as I have Experienc't
since your Absence. The Course of my Life is to
get up in the Morning to Breakfast and do what
necessary Business I can (which is but small), get
done and about ten O'Clock at night I goe to
Bed. No more of the Family do I see till next Morn-
ing. . . .

... It is Necessary you should be in Town. . . .
I have wrote you, and now do from my Soul request,
that you will come to Town, and leave your affairs in
the best Situation you can. I claim no Advantage.
My interest I give up. If you can't dispose of your
Servants to your mind, bring them to Town. Let
us take the Chance with our Neighbours. I will
bear any hardship to have you with me. My spiritts
win be insupportable to live the Life I do. I have

210 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

gone through many tryalls, which I thought would
have Overcome me, hut I hope they are Over and
will be a Comfort to me in my distress. Pray leave
the Farm to take its Chance. Your Creatures are
of no consequence, your Hay the same. Carry none
to Brush Hill, but hasten your way to Boston, where
we shall be as happy as those about us ; and if we
cannot remain Quiet here, I wiU goe where ever you
please. I know we shall meet with friends in any
part of the Globe, for I can clap my hand to my
Breast and say that I have injured no Man, nor
given cause to make myself an Enemy. We have
both gone through many tryalls in Life, and all that
I aim at now is to make my latter days Easy, which
a little matter will do after going thro' the Bustle
and cares of high Life. I assiu-e you I can content
myself in any little HoveU that wiU afford me a
Bare Sustinence, to have you with me. Dont think
of removing anywhere but to Town. Quit every
thought of Prosecuting any other scheme. You
need only come to the Lines and make enquiry for
Mr. B. Davis or Capt. Bowen and they will conduct
you safe to Town, or send me a line that I may at-
tend you. . . .

I am forever yours. Adieu

Ralph Inman.
P. S. This is my Only and Last Request that you
win come to Town, with your Family and Servants,
for I cannot live in my present Situation. Mr. &
Mrs. Rowe urge it, and all your friends desire to
have you in Town. It was always mine, had I not

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 211

mistook youx meaning. Be at no more Expense on
the farm. Let those take it that will Reap the Crop,
and send me word and I 'U secure a pass for all.
It is not Time to deliberate. Jack M., too, I can pro-
vide for. Would not Shed take some of the other
Servants to board ? Act yourself by them, but Bill
must come with you, for nothing can be done with-
out his help in Town. I should be glad of a line
by the first Opportunity over the Ferry to know
my Fate, for your letter Yesterday has distres'd me
above measure. . . .

To this Mrs. Inman repHed : —

ELIZABETH INMAN TO EAIPH INMAN.

June 14th, 1775.

Dear Sir, — Your very affectionate letter I re-
ceived yesterday by Mrs. Cordis, am much obliged
to you for setting this matter to rights. I freely
own it made me very inattentive to myself. When
they used to tell me I was in a place of great danger
I told them with a cheerful countenance we could
die but once, and I was a predestinarian, therefore
had no personal fear, not even when I stood before
a Company that made a prisoner of me in a formal
manner. The day and evening the Girls were here,
notwithstanding my carelessness about myself, be
assured. Dear Sir, I did not neglect what I thought
would be most for your intrest. I have carefully
studied it, and if I have erred it is in Judgement ;
and if I did not see a fare prospect of saving your

212 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

crop, stock &e &c, I would immediately go to town
and convince you how ready I was to obey. Indeed,
it is my inclination, but you wisely observe your in-
come is only seventy pound sterling a year. In that
case your servants could not be mentain'd in town.
It would certainly take more than that sum to buy
only them the worst of provisions. Therefore I 'U
give you my opinion, it is for me to sleep at Brush-
hill and come here in the day, till we get our hay
and crops removed ; then leave this place to the
care of Col. Sargent & Lady, with one or two ser-
vants to prevent the house and farm being hurt or
crowded ; to leave the other servants with Badcock
at Brush-hill ; to sell as much of the produce and
stock as possible, or leave at Brush-hill as you think
proper. As we have sown it is a pitty not to reap.
... I am sorry my letter gave you so much uneasy-
ness. I thought, as times were, it was necessary to
speak my mind. When I have done that my heart
is at ease. I hope and pray yours may be the same,
and when an opportunity offers I beg you will write
as freely to me as I have done to you. The conse-
quence of my going to Town now is an entire loss of
your stock, and this year's produce. I have gone
throw some difficulty to preserve it, and I think a
little while longer may accomplish my design. I
would have you consider of this affair seriously and
let me know your determination.

Adieu, Dear Sir.

Three days after the date of the last letter came

A TORY m REVOLUTIOISrAKY BOSTON 213

the battle of Bunker Hill. Cambridge was at the
highest pitch of excitement, — the camp there was
a scene of confusion, the townspeople stricken with
terror. For, should the British succeed at those
frail outworks, there was nothing to prevent them
from attacking the American army at its headquar-
ters. But what sensations the moving troops, the
sound of battle, and the smoke of the burning
houses of Charlestown aroused in the Murrays in
Boston or in Mrs. Inman in Cambridge can only be
conjectured, for no family letter touching on the
battle is extant.

One such letter did exist, but it has vanished. It
was from Mrs. Forbes, and in it she related that she
was in Cambridge on the morning of the seven-
teenth, but that, unable to endure her fright, she
made a fifteen-year-old boy harness a horse to her
Aunt Inman's chaise and drive her to Brush Hill,
the noise of the firing causing her to stop her ears
all the way.

Mrs. Inman, with the rest of her servants, also
fled during the day, but how or with whom is not
known.

Family tradition, borne out by anecdotes of the
time, relates that General Putnam's son, who was in
the habit of guarding the Inman house by sleeping
there at night, was instructed by his father to remain
with Mrs. Inman on the 17th, and, if she left the
town, to escort her to a place of safety. It is to be
presumed that he obeyed the charge.

The blank in the correspondence after the date of

214 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

the battle is broken by the following formal com-
munication from Mr. Murray : —

M' Murray presents his Affectionate Compliments
to his Sister Inman & his Daughter Forbes. He has
obtained Leave from the Commander in Chief to see
them or either of them, with General Howe's con-
sent, at the advanced posts of Charlestown on Satur-
day next. He proposes this Interview to be between
the hours of Eleven & one O'Clock. Betsey is
named in the Permit & purposes to be of the party.
M" Inman's old Acquaintance Colin Campbell, now
a Captain in the 35* Reg*, intends to escorte us, if
he shall be on duty, we shall bring some other offi-
cer to be Eye & Ear Witness of all that passes.
And the Ladies are desired to use the same precau-
tion, on their side : the Times require it.

M"^ Lloyd has hkewise got Permission to see, on
the same day, his Mother & Sister Lisle & to bring
them in, if they choose.
Boston July 26" Wednesday 1775.

The next letter from Mrs. Inman is from Brush
Hill.

The Mrs. Hooper, to whom it refers, is William
Hooper's mother. During the siege she and her
son were tenderly cared for by the Murray family in
Boston, and afterward at Brush Hill. That the let-
ter in its caustic dealing with Mr. Inman should
have thrown that gentleman into a second tremor of
agitation can scarcely be wondered at.

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A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 215

ELIZABETH INMAN TO EALPH INMAN.

Brush-hill, July 30th, 1775.

Dear Sir, — I had the pleasure of yours at the
hues yesterday with a note wherein you say you did
not deHver Mrs. Hooper's letter. The day Mrs.
Forbes was at the Lines with it she expected to
meet Anne and had a message for her for a key to
that letter, but she was disappointed in not seeing
her. The message she will write you.

In my last I told you I was planing night and
day. These plans were well meant and not selfish.
However, as they do not suit you, I rest satisfied.
If you had given Mrs. Hooper the letter and told
her you would be glad i£ she would stay in town till
I could come in, she would certainly have done it,
and according to my desire she might have sent for
fresh meat. I am sure it would have been granted,
as G. Washington says he will do every thing in his
Power to serve her.

Words cannot describe my astonishment when I
received your message ; it was if Mrs. Hooper came
out of town you would go to London with Mr. &
Mrs. Rowe. If this is a return for the many
anxious and fatigueing days I have had, I leave it
to your better Judgement, and will endeavor to sub-
mit. To save you from every anxiety that is in my
power to prevent, I enclose your order on Clark &
Nightengale, as you say in your note " R. I. has
received but little money since he came to town.
He has been obliged to draw for his own wants,
and waits to receive his account current from Lanes

216 JAMES MUKRAT, LOYALIST

House to see if he is entitled to draw for the Provi-
dence sum, which he cannot do should his depend-
ance on a bill remitted be returned or any failure
in the house which he is anxious to hear from."
Now, Sir, you have received this valuable treasure
(an order for one hundred pound sterling), I beg
you 'U cast ofE your cares. Anxiety is very bad for
the health, which you '11 require a great share of, as
well as money and good spirits, in seeing and being
seen in England.

You have sent a List of debts with directions to
get Intrest but not principle. I hate to be insulted,
therefore cannot make any demand at present, nor
at any other time, without a power from you ; no
doubt you '11 leave one with some friend before you
sail. BeKeve me, Mr. Inman, I am not anxious
about a mentinence. Experience has taught me,
water-gruel and salt for supper and breakfast, with
a bit of meat, a few greens or roots, are enough for
me. No doubt you blame me to your numerous
acquaintance for not coming to Town. I think they
ought to hear my reasons before they condemn me.
In the first of the bussle you wrote to me that I was
better in the Country than in town, after that you
wrote to me you could not command but seventy
pound sterling a year, and provisions were very
dear and scarce. A few weeks after that, you in-
vited me and your large family into town, which
family, I mean those you had before I lived at
Cambridge, spent three hundred and twenty pound
sterling a year, and the produce of the farm. This

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 217

invitation I thought very seriously of, and would
have accepted it with pleasure on my own account,
but was and am certain it would have been cruel on
theirs. Therefore I wrote to you that sum would
not buy them the worst of provisions in the cheap-
est times, and proposed my staying to assist them in
protecting and taking care of the crop that could be
saved, in order to maintain them, till they could
raise another in some quiet part of the country.
The hay we were obHged to move ; there was
twenty-five Ton of it. I paid three pound ten
shilling 0. T. a load for bringing it here. At that
time your carts and Brush-hill ones were employed
in bringing furniture &c. The rye turns out very
well, they are now thrashing it. There is but little
hay any where, the drought has been very severe.
I proposed, i£ I had disposed of the rest of the
crops, to have changed houses with Mrs. Hooper,
left the servants here, — Mrs. Hooper and John to
have paid Mrs. Forbes enough for their board to
have bought cash articles with, the produce of this

farm to have been an equivalent for Mrs. F ,

Betzy and the children.

As to the aspersion of this being G. Lee's head-
quarters, I cannot imagine how it arose. I never
saw him till Saturday at the Lines. None of the
gentlemen have been here but Mr. Sargent once to
wait on his lady. As to having letters directed
to my care, I could not deny that privilege to those
that asked me. They knew Mr. Sargent lived in
your house, who went to head quarters every day.

218 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

and had an opportunity to take them up and send
them here. I beg to know what else I am accused
of. Be assured, Dear Sir, I will with pleasure
account for every action that I remember since the
year seventeen hundred and twenty-six (the year of
my birth).

I have not had the manners to return one of the
visits the Ladies paid me on my arrival here.

Adieu Dear Sir.

Parts of the following letter from Mr. Murray to
Mrs. Forbes were evidently written in reply to the
letter from Mrs. Inman to her husband, and were
intended for her eye. They still have the authori-
tative tone of the elder brother.

JAMES MUEKAT TO DOROTHY FORBES.

Boston, September 10th, 1775.

Dear Dolly, — I am now to answer at more
length and more ease than I did yesterday through
the Lines, several letters which have been lately re-
ceived by Mr. Walkers, Uncle and myself. He is
so deranged by the tenor of one of his that he can-
not yet be composed enough to reply.

I said yesterday and said truly that the giving no
power to receive principal sums was of my Sugges-
tion, that the Attorney might not be compelled to
take such disagreeable payment as might in these
days of confusion be tendered. As to Mrs. H[ooper]
I had before the Receipt of the letter to her pro-
posed her going to the Country before I thought of

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 219

consulting Mr. I. She did not seem to relish it,
yet acquiesced, but the Son absolutely refused to
leave the Town. Add to this Mr. Inman's desire
to have them in the house as some Company to him,

for A was none. It was also by my advice that

the Letter to her was kept back. We could not
divine the scheme that has since opened about a
change of houses, which would have been highly
pleasing to him and me, but not so, I fancy, to any
of the Ladies within or without.

One would think 1726 was at distance enough to
learn to make allowance for the vexation the times
give to one put quite out of his usual mode of life
and hampered in business. On the other hand, if we
consider seriously what vast alteration both with
regard to Life and property a little time may soon
produce, we shall not be apt to take Exceptions
to the conduct of our nearest and best friends, but
put the most favourable Construction upon it. Nor
shall we despond under the troubles of the Time if
we can persuade ourselves, as we ought, that Pro-
vidence will bring much good out of them.

I understood by Annie's letter that she would
have leave on your Side to come through the Lines,
therefore applied for leave here, which I obtained
after calling for it three or four times, but with this
mortifying restraint, that I was not to pass the Lines
or have any Conference with a friend without, while
that privilege was allowed that day to the Rev. Mr.
Walter.^ You see in what a State of Diffidence and
1 " Rev. Nathaniel Walter, son of Rev. Nehemiah Walter, of the

220 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Suspicion I stand in here by my family being able
to make their Quarters good in the Country. This
I am quite unconcerned about, because time and
Opportunity will exculpate me to the World in that
respect, as much as I am now before God and Con-
science.

Mr. Inman desires me to inclose with this his
power to Mrs. Inman. She will consider how far it
may be proper to publish it, for the Reasons before
mentioned.

I send you also Mr Forbes' letter as you say this
sent by way of Newport will not be opened.

The June packet arrived yesterday, but no Letters
for any of us.

Mary Murray had, in 1774, gone to England to
visit her parents, leaving her millinery wares and
customers in the hands of her sister Anne. Of
Anne's afEairs Mr. Murray speaks in the ensuing
letter. She had been sent to Brush Hill for a di-
version, not so much from the cares of business
as from the vicinity of a youth who was yet a
student and without any means of support except
what his father supplied. He was William Dummer
Powell, son of John PoweU, a stanch loyalist.

First Church. He was born in Roxbury August 15, 1711, graduated
at Harvard College in 1729, was ordained over the Second Church
July 10, 1734, and died March 11, 1776. He was a chaplain in the
Louisburg expedition, and acted as interpreter for General Pepperell.
Mem. Hist. Bost. vol. ii. p. 346.

A TORY IN REYOLUTIONAKY BOSTON 221

JAMES MUREAY TO ELIZABETH INMAN.

Boston, August 28, 1775.

Dear Sister, — As I am like to have few Oppor-
tunities like this, it would be unpardonable not to
write you freely. — -,

I hesitate much about sending out Betsey, who I
now seems anxious to go. It is thought very odd
that, while other Tories are loudly complaining of
the restraints and hardships their families suffer in ,__^
the Country, I should voluntarily throw my Daugh-
ter into the same Snare, where if she fare better than

others, the Inference wiU not be to my advantage. \

I wish for your advice before she be sent out, but
that I know not how you can send, aU communica-
tion at the Lines being cut off, unless you can get a
safe hand to deliver your letter to Mr. Ross, the man
of Mr. Tarbett's boat, who transports the Emigrants
to Winnisimet.

I wrote you last week that it is impracticable at
this time to dispose of Anny's goods by wholesale,
they would not fetch ten shillings on the pound.
In winter, if we continue here, it wiU be necessary
for her to come in for a whUe at least, for I cannot
make up the Accounts without her, and then goods
of her sort will be scarcer and of course more sale-
able. My wife proposes that she should stay with
us and tend her Shop in the day only. This might
help to check some improper danghng.

I have said, if we continue here, for it is a fa-
vourite scheme of many Officers of the Army, I do
not say of the General, to lay this town in Ashes and

U^

222 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

to decamp with the Tories toward New York, where
there will be more elbow Room and more of the
Country people to countenance and assist the King's
Army. It is said this scheme has been much incul-
cated by Letters from hence, and orders are by some
expected in Consequence.

A Man of War arrived on Saturday with dis-
patches for the General, which left Plymouth the
21st June, but nothing by that ship Transpires.
A Victualing ship arrived last week which brings a
Letter of the 15th June from Mr. Blowers to Mr.
Rogers, Amory's partner, saying that the General's
account of the 19th April by Capt. Brown had ar-
rived only two days before, that it had not at all
affected the stocks, that the Ministry had the entire
confidence of the Nation, and that the present con-
duct of the Americans would increase the number,
not of their friends, but of their enemies at home.
These articles I had from Mr. Rogers himself. . . .

The Town has been very sickly, but this family
and the Sugar house have escaped.

As the time of Gage's departure for England
drew near, the regulations affecting intercourse
between Boston and the country grew somewhat
slack. Communication between Milton and Boston
was carried on by vessels sailing up the Neponset.
Mrs. Inman journeyed back and forth between the
two places, and even went to the Inman house in
Cambridge ; Mr. and Mrs. Murray visited Brush
HiU, Annie Murray returned to town, where her

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 223

betrothal and marriage to William Powell occurred ;
and Elizabeth, after spending a few weeks at the
farm, danced unchallenged in Boston at a Tory
ball. It was rather remarkable that the family
could stand, even temporarily, in such high favor
with both sides.

JAMES MUKEAT TO DOROTHY FORBES AND ELIZABETH

MtTRRAT.

Boston, October 2d, 1775.

My dear Friends, — I had the pleasure to re-
ceive your Letter of the 23d by your Aunt, who
came upon us as unexpectedly as agreeably and who
will find it necessary to stay here for some time to
expedite her Niece Anne, who goes for England,
fellow passenger with Mrs. Comm-r. Robinson,^ Mr.,
Mrs. and Miss Burch and General Jones's Daugh-
ter. Mrs. Gordon ^ has defer'd her voyage till the
Spring. Baillie A. goes home next month on a very
advantageous prospect. He has received your
Cheese and returns his thanks. Padre's ^ patron to
whom you sent another has been to see your Aunt
this morning — says you ought certainly to remain
where you are this Winter, and is very glad to hear
of your and the boys health. Your Sister, who
went out of town against my inclination, tho' with
my Consent, must not think of quitting you tiU your
Aunt's return, if then.

1 Wife of Mr. Robinson of James Otis fame.
^ Mrs. Murray's sister.

2 Mr. Forbes.

224 JAMES MUKEAY, LOYALIST

Our accounts from home by the Cerberus are very-
agreeable in every Eespect. One I may mention to
you is that both the army and Inhabitants here are
to be plentifully supplied with every Necessary dur-
ing the Winter. I hope you wiU be satisfied with
minding your farm and seeing your friends, without
being inquisitive about the Transactions of the
Army in your Neighbourhood. Instead of hunting
after News where I may have it daily, of some sort,
on the Exchange, I consult my peace and health by
labouring in my Garden, leaving the affairs of State
to whom they belong.

Padre's letter to me shall be sent you by next
Opportunity. Poor man ! he seems still to be trou-
bled with the heart burn. You mistake it much, if
you imagine any charge about you has been or wiU
be painful to me — quite the reverse. No other
expense gives me so much pleasure, and I hope we
shall all agree in cutting our Coats according to our
Cloth. . . .

Be cheerful and resigned. My love to the
Children. Yours most affectionately.

JAMES MUKKAT TO DOROTHY FORBES AND ELIZABETH
MURRAY.

Boston, October 18th, 1775.

Dear Dolly and Betsey, — Having so good a
bearer as Mrs. Hooper, I shall write you all that
occurs, as far as may be proper in these times.
Knowing your afEection for the bearer to be of long
standing, I need not recommend her to your and

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 225

Betsey's particular care and attention. Your Aunt
says she ought to sleep in the middle Room, and one
of you to sleep by her in a field bed to be moved
from the Entry, for which there are Curtains in the
linen press. If she does not carry curtains for her
bed, the green curtains must be put up.

Be careful to have the used Chimneys sweep'd
once a month by Titus or whom you can get, and
give him a Pistareen a time.

As your Ma has such an aversion to the Country
and fondness for the Town, it is my design to give
up the farm entirely to you two, and when I go out
to be as your Guest and Adviser, so it will behoove
you to manage with all the economy you can, as you
will have no other subsistence. . . . Remember
poor Juba ^ &e.

Annexed is an account of things sent out for
your family's use and chargd to you. I send your
Chest to the Sugar house, as also what things were
in the Bureau put in my portmanteau trunk, there
to remain under your Aunt's care till there be a
better opportunity than this of sending them out,
which is Kkely soon to happen. It is said there will
be ere long leave for a very general emigration of
the Inhabitants of the town. . . .

ELIZABETH INMAN TO DOEOTHT FORBES.

Cambridge, Tuesday evening, Nov. 3d., 1775.

My dear Dolly, — Betsy is going to the Ball.
She begs you '11 send her stays, white satin ribbed

^ The slave brought from St. Augustine.

226 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

ones, best laced ruffles, tucker and some small
flowers and a large one. . . . She has to wear colored
clothes, therefore must have lace. If your papa and
mama are gone before Isaac gives you this, put the
things into a trunk and let him put it into the pan-
yerds and carry them directly to Betzy. If they
are not gone, let them be sent in the carriage.
Pray send her fan and a pocket handkerchief ; do
not omit any of the things. If the things go in the
carriage, send Isaac directly back with your pan-
yerds that was left there some time ago.

If you can go to the Ball, you may have my white
lutstring altered in an hour for you. I '11 carry it
to Town in the morning with your linen from the
wash. Adieu my Dear,

Yours most affectionately

E. I.

The small flowers are wanted very much, pray
send them all.

Enclosed is a letter that came for your papa last
winter which I forgot to give him.

Mrs. Forbes was still carrying on the farm with
good success, and as averse to moving to town as
was Mrs. Inman. " Should we quit the place," she
said, in a letter to her father, " it would soon be
filled, as Governor Hutchinson's and others are,
with all kinds of Rabble, whoever the Committee
think fit. Our stock would be sold at Vendue, we
might expect everything to go to ruin."

Wood had been cut at Brush Hill in January, as
the following memorandum shows.

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 227

Milton, Jau' 6, 1773.

This may Certify to whom it may Consern that I
have with a party of Men from the American Army
Cut fifty three & an half Cords of wood on what is
Called the Murry Lott at Brush hill.

Wm. Cleveland, Lieut.

N. B one half Cord of the above wood was burnt
by the party.

It was not surprising that the wood had been
taken, as the towns around Cambridge were all
expected to furnish a quota of fuel for the army.
Milton, as part of Eoxbury, was drawn upon, and
the best assistance which General Mifflin could give
to Mrs. Forbes was the advice in the following
friendly letter : —

GENEEAL MTFFLIN TO MRS. FOKBES.

CAMBRroGE, 16 October, 1775

Dear M^^ Foebes, — I do not know of any
orders for cutting wood on your Farm. M' Parke
my Assistant at Roxbury may possibly have thought
of it, but would not send out a party without con-
sulting me.

The Army is in want of wood and will I fear be
necessarily suppHed by Encroachments on private
Property.

If it should unfortunately be the hard Lot of M"
Forbes to posess wood in the Neighbourhood of
Eoxbury, I give it as my most friendly Advice to
send immediately some carefid person to agree with

228 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

M' Parke in Roxbury for the wood as it stands & to
assist in surveying it. He will give 20/ p' Cord for
Wood delivered in Roxbury & a proportionate Price
for wood in Growth.

I wiU write to M"" Parke & prevent any Injury
to the Farm. As to the Wood Cutters, i£ any
must be set to Work, you may depend upon then-
good Behaviour. Any Complaint from you of ill
Treatment will be carefully attended to ; and Care
shall be taken to prevent their giving you any
Trouble.

You have Nothing to do with the Wood Cutters, —
they will be supplied with provisions from the Camp.
If they presume to take any thing without your
Consent they will be punished for it.

If you find it necessary I desire you to show this
Letter to the Committee of the Town.

M" Lynch arrived last Night without his Lady.
If it should be in my power to ride to Milton this
Week I will attend M" Mifflin.

I am with Compliments to Miss Murray, Madam,

Your obt Ser —

Tho Mifflin.

In November or December, regulations concern-
ing passes and interviews were again made strin-
gent, and Mrs. Inman's visits to Boston came near
causing the confiscation of some of her property.
The circumstances relating to this incident are set
forth in the following Memorial of Dorothy Forbes.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 229

To THE Hon' Coxtncil & House or Representatives
of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in Water Town
assembled this 12th Day of December 1775.

The memorial of Dorothy Forbes of Milton in
the County of Sufolk most humbly sheweth, That
your memorialest now is and was left in possession
of a considerable part of the Effects of EUzabeth
Inman, wife of Ralph Inman of Cambridge, now
in Boston, that during the Troubles of last Summer
the said Elizabeth remained at Cambridge tUl such
time as the Danger became so eminent that she was
advised by General Putnam and Others to remove
to some more distant place for Safety, ia consequence
of which the said Elizabeth removed herself, Family
and what Effects that remained in her hands as per
Schedule annexed, to this Town. Since that time
the s^ EHzabeth has been so unfortunate as to go
into Boston, altho' with a fuU intent to return with
Mr. Inman and Mrs. Hooper or either of them.
The latter of whom with her Son has come out and
now Uves with your memorialest, and your memorial-
est is credibly informed that General Howe will by
no means even permit the said Elizabeth to have an
interview with her friends at the hues. The Com-
mittee of this Town now think themselves obliged
by the Resolve of Congress of June 21st last to take
the Effects out of the Custody of your memorialest,
but your memorialest thinks herself entitled to re-
main in possession of the above Effects agreeable to
the Explanation of the above resolve of July 8th,
which Says the care of the Committee does not ex-

230 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

tend to any part of those estates where there is any
occupant or possession. Your memorialest there-
fore prays that she may continue in possession of
the above Effects agreeable to the Explanation of the
above resolve ; as your memorialest has a very large
Fame and glory to maintain and is willing to be
accountable to the Hon! Court and also to pay her
taxes and her proportion of the Expenses which may
occur in these perplexing times, and as the Commit-
tee are in some Doubt about the above resolve your
memorialest prays a further Explanation of the Hon?
Court with which she will chearfully acquiesce, and
as your memorialest has conducted herself agreeable
to the Continental Congress she prays the prayer
of her petition may be granted.

The threatened danger was averted, but interviews
continued to be subject to restrictions which made
them less productive of pleasure than of pain.
Meantime the sugar house, after serving the King's
troops for barracks, had been converted into a hos-
pital for patients undergoing inoculation for the
small-pox.

JAMES MTJKKAT TO DOROTHT FORBES AND ELIZABETH
MUEKAT.

Boston, December 15th, 1775.

My Dear Children, — I wrote you through the
Lines since our last Interview that it was so short, so
embarrassed, and to me so affecting, I should not
soon desire a Kepetition of it, & that I expected

A TORY DSr REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 231

the Overture for the next meeting would come from
you. As this is not like to be the Case, and I am
anxious to see you once more before Winter sets in,
I have given Gen' Howe the trouble of another ap-
plication for a Flag of Truce, and have the promise
of three days notice that I may warn you when it
may be granted.

Mr. Campbell and all the rest of your friends here
are well ; many of them happily and quickly over
the small-pox : none more so than Mrs. Barnes and
Crissy, who are in high Spirits, to embark for Lon-
don in a few days. Miss Cumming's Niece, Mrs.
Smith, gone home. Mrs. Gordon and her family
sail this day for Halifax. Mrs. Linzee's Children
under inoculation at the Sugar house doing well.
Our three Negroes are now in the 9th day of the
Eruption, walking about the Town. The Mother
had many out distinct and full, — her Children but
a few. It is supposed that above a thousand have
now had this Distemper by inoculation (Dr. Lloyd
340 to his own share), and scarcely one like to die
of it. Among other Subjects are old Mrs. Craddock,
Mrs. Harry Loyd and her Sisters. Every body of
our Acquaintance has had Resolution, except Dr.
Caner and Mrs. G. Deblois, who are imprisoned to-
gether in his house, while her younger Children are
inoculating at home. You will have time and leave,
I doubt not, to send in your boys for it in the
Spring. At present I hope you have reason to
think they are better in the Country upon Coun-
try fare. Mr. Anderson gone for England before

232 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

he heard his Vessel from Glasgow was taken — a
Loss he will not regard when it meets him in the
Bustle of London, though it might have vexed him
on the passage in a North East Wind. . . .

I am Your most aflEectionate Father

James Murray.

Ten o'clock.

I have just now obtained leave to see you on
Monday next at eleven o' Clock, if the weather will
permit ; if not, on the first fair day after that you
can travel. Yours, J. M.

Mrs. Fisher, with whom I write this postscript, is
anxious to hear of or from her father and mother in
your Neighbourhood. Bring word from them.

To Mrs. Forbes at Brush-hill, Milton,

to be left at the late Rev. Mr. Adams's
Minister of Roxbury.

Gage, recalled to England, had sailed away from
Boston, as the next letter from Mr. Murray relates,
on the 10th of October. Before he left, his friends
in Boston drew up an address, in which they ex-
pressed their confidence in him and their apprecia-
tion of his services. A like address had been pre-
sented to Hutchinson upon his departure in June,
1774. Thus " Addresser of Hutchinson " or " Ad-
dresser of Gage " came to be a descriptive term set
against certain names, in lists of the Tories. James
Murray was an "Addresser " of Gage,^ GUbert
Deblois of Gage and Hutchinson, both.

' He would naturally have been among the addressers of Hutchin-
son also, though he is not so recorded by Sabine.

A TORY m REVOLUTIONAEY BOSTON 233

JAKES MUKRAT TO DOROTHY FORBES AND ELIZABETH
MURRAY.

Boston, January lOtb, 1776.

My Dear Children, — Betsey's letter to Mrs.
Butler of the . . . which came to hand yesterday,
giving such good Accounts of your and your fam-
ily's health and welfare, makes your friends in town
very happy. It makes some amends too for my dis-
appointment on that fine day, Thiu-sday the 28th
past, when I went with Mr. Walter to your Roxbury
lines in hopes of seeing you and his Nieces. He
was also disappointed, and so was Mrs. Loring,
whose maternal fondness carried her to know from
you about her Child. It would be kind to write her
at times, for she is very anxious. And when you
can, without giving umbrage to your Protectors, or
Suspicion to your Neighbours, obtain leave for
another Interview, and can bring with you as
healthy and chearful Countenances as you did at our
last, your very looks will be a feast to your old
Father, tho' not a Word pass.

All your Friends in town, without exception, are
well and would be glad to hear frequently from you,
if we cannot have the happiness to see you. We
congratulate you on your acquisition of so agreeable
a Companion as Miss G[oldthwaite]. Her philosoph-
ical and musical turn wiU help to soothe your Cares
and beguile the Winter. Mrs. Hooper will enter-
tain you with pleasant stories of the past, and your
Resignation and good Spirits may or ought to sup-
port your hopes of the future.

234 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

We join in wishing you, your family and the rest
of our good neighbours in Milton and Dorchester the
Compliments of the Season. May your horses be in
good plight to be social with them, whUe there is
fine Sleighing. No word yet of or from your Cousin
Anne, tho' she saU'd at the same time with General
Gage on the 10th October — no account of him
neither.

Gov-r. Wentworth's and the Lieut. Governor's
Ladies are going home with their famihes.

Inclosed is a letter from your Aunt Bennet.
There is also one from her Sister, but it is illegible,
I cannot send it. . . .

There are now letters in town from London as late
as the 26th November. Our friends were arrived.

The winter of 1775-6 dragged itself on while
Washington waited for ammunition. A few raids
here and there from the Americans kept the British
on the alert for an attack; yet a real attack, had
they known it, was the last thing they needed to fear.
But Knox's oxen were on the way. Into Cambridge
they plodded at last, with their procession of sledges,
a " noble train of ammunition," dragged through
snowy forests and over frozen rivers, and destined
to drive out of Boston not only Howe's detested
army, but also to render homeless many of the most
devoted citizens of the town.

The following letter, written less than three
weeks before the cannon were planted on Dorches-
ter Heights, is the last bearing the superscription
« Boston."

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 235

JAMES MURRAY TO DOROTHY FORBES AND ELIZABETH
MURRAY.

Boston, Feb. 14th, 1776.

My Dear Childeen, — Finding I could not with
propriety ask leave to go to the Lines yesterday, as
I had been there on the Thursday before and as
there were so many of our Town folks on yester-
day's party, I wrote a few lines to send out, but
these through my Laziness happened not to be in
time. When I heard of your having been at the
Rendezvous, I was grieved for my having been so
much out of Luck. Your letter of the 13th, which
you prudently were prepared with, made me no
small amends for my Disappointment. I am
charmed that you have the happiness of getting
Madam and Mrs. Belcher under your Roof. You
now Hve to some purpose, indeed, when you have a
house and hearts for an Asylum to such merit in
Distress. If any Necessary is wanted for these
Ladies which this town can afEord, I have authority
to say it will be permitted to be sent out. I shall not
be wanting in procuring it, and I know from your
Experience that there is pohteness and humanity
enough, on your Side, to secure the safe deUvery.

I have some hopes of leave to be at your Ren-
dezvous at the usual hour on Monday next, if the
weather be toUerable ; if not, on the first toUerable
day, for we must not talk of fine and fair days at
this Season. . . .

If we do not meet on Monday or the first fair
day, be prepared, as you were last time and as I

236 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

shall be if I go, with a letter about anything that
occurs, and let us submit them in time to inspec-
tion, that there be no room for Suspicion. . . .

The fortification of Dorchester Heights by Wash-
ington, while it was a surprise, did not destroy the
confidence of the Murrays and other Tories shut up
in Boston in the ability of the British army to take
care of them. When, therefore, the boats of the
British were scattered by the storm, the enemy's
works declared too strong to be carried, and the
evacuation of Boston pronounced a necessity, the
consternation was indescribable.

Men who had lived all their lives in Boston and
were part and parcel of it found themselves sud-
denly compelled to take leave of friends, old asso-
ciations, and property, and to fly with the army to
Nova Scotia.

The departure of Howe was hampered and delayed
by the necessity for removing these loyalists. All
the transports that were at hand, assisted by such
other vessels as could be procured, were inadequate
for the purpose. The refugees, on their part, were
in a state of distraction between the impossibility of
taking with them more than a small part of their
possessions, and the difficulty of getting that small
part carried to the wharves. Carts of all kinds
loaded with every description of household goods
hurried through the streets. At the same time sol-
diers who had plundered deserted mansions, Tory
or Patriot, bore oflE their booty by broad daylight

A TOKY IN EEVOLUTIOSTAEY BOSTON 237

or left it to strew the streets. Everywhere the dis-
order was extreme.

Mr. Murray, like the rest, had no recourse but to
sail for Halifax with Howe. The Misses Cummings
and probably several others went under his protec-
tion ; seven persons are numbered as comprising
his fleeing family. His farewell letters, if he wrote
or could send any, have not been preserved. The
parting he must have believed to be only temporary,
but it was final. He never saw his sister or his
children again.

Soon after the evacuation, Mrs. Forbes received a
letter from WiUiam Hooper, asking for information
concerning the family. As Mr. Murray was his
uncle by marriage and had exerted himself to the
utmost in the care of Mrs. Hooper and her other
sons, the inquiry was but natural.

WILLIAM HOOPEB TO DOROTHY FOEBBS.

This, My dear M™ Forbes, is addressed to you
from Baltimore, in Maryland, where I now am on
my return to Carolina, to my dear dear Annie & my
Httle Bantlings. Long e'er this had I wrote you, but
partly my ingagements in publick business, in a great
measure Indisposition, add to all a want of subject
worthy your Attention, conspired to prevent it, & for
your comfort have hitherto doomed me to Silence.
But I can no longer forbear, and tho' I have nothing
but the trouble of perusing it, you must, as you
have often done before, submit to my Impertinence.
This is a tax you must pay for that intimate friend-

238 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

ship with which you have favoured me, & if I err
you must look for my Apology in the benevolence
of your own heart.

I am extremely anxious to know what change the
Alteration of the state of Boston has produced in
your Family and those Connections which Blood
Intimacy have nearly allied to both of us. Such
are the Miseries of Civil dissentions, they sever the
most intimate relations. Affections follow diversity
of Sentiments, & we hate the man because we disap-
prove his pohtical opinions. Oh, human Nature
what a motley machine art thou ! Heaven made thee
in thy original perfect, but left the use of thee to the
discretion of the Creature, and a pretty business he
makes of it. Were you and I to cast a look back
upon the happy days we once saw, & date from the
period of our Brush Hill festivity, should we not be
apt to call in question some part of the providential
Arrangement, & pronounce that so much Mischief
was not necessary to produce general good ? But I
am willing to submit hood winked, & wrapped in
the consciousness of divine wisdom judge of what
is mysterious from what I know, and appeal to
futurity for the conviction of the rectitude of the
whole. . . .

A Battle has been fought in Carohna. Success has
determined in favor of the American Cause, a Cause,
my dear M™ Forbes, which I hold dear as my Reli-
gion, which I first undertook from principle & which
I have to this day persisted in from the most con-
vincing sense of the Justice of it. Should America

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 239

be successful, my utmost wishes are answered. No
sacrifice that I can make can be too valuable a con-
sideration for such a purchase. My own personal
misfortunes, should they be hereafter crowded upon
me, & Heaven should mark the residue of my Cup
of life with extreme bitterness — all my misfortunes
would loose their pungency, if seasoned with the
Consolatory reflection that they were the consequence
of my Exertions in the cause of freedom. One pain-
ful Idea, however, will ever intrude itself upon me,
that if I am right, my friends, my Intimates, my
Relations are essentially wrong, & errors are this
day more than speculative, they extend to prac-
tice. . . .

Whatever may be your or my political Opinions,
Our friendship has had an origin & has been
cemented by offices of kindness which the capri-
ciousness of human fortune cannot shock or alter.
No, let the Wreck of time produce what it wiU, I
shall ever treasure you among my first, best & dear-
est friends. Blast the man that would sully the
Connection. I wish for peace, that we may once
more under our own Vines & Fig trees enjoy the
blessing of domestick peace, that I might enjoy in
my own Cabin, eat my Hogg & Hominee without
anything to make me afraid.

My Mother and Brother have my warmest Wishes
for their Health & Happiness. May the blessings
of Heaven faU on that Hand which has so often
administered to them comfort as you have done.
When I write you, I write them. I feel the same

240 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

tender attachment to you & them. Mention me to

them most affectionately.

Judge of my anxiety for my Annie, Gov® Martin

lying with his Ships at Dubois's Mill, the battle

fought only 15 Miles from her. Maclaine, who

married Peggy Dubois, was in the engagement

& fled. He is taken before this. I feel for M"

Dubois. Pray offer my most affectionate regards to

your Sister. Kemember me to Miss Kent, to all

your & my friends who care any thing about me.

But I must end my Scrawl. I write in a Tavern

in a Croud, & long e're this have exhausted your

patience. Adieu, my dear Dolly, says

Your Sincere friend

W" Hooper.
Baltimore, April 2, 1776.

Write me under Cover to Joseph Hewes, esquire,
delegate for North CaroUna at Philadelphia.^

After the evacuation Mrs. Inman remained in
Boston. Her estate in Cambridge, even then in a
ruinous condition, was confiscated. It was from
her house in town that Elizabeth wrote the following
letter. Fortunately the threat of putting it out of
sight, that it might not disgrace her memory at some
future day, was never carried out.

1 William Hooper was also a delegate, and was a signer of the
Declaration of Independence.

A TORT IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 241

ELIZABETH MURRAY TO DOROTHY FORBES.

Boston, Juue 11, 1776. Tuesday Afternoon,
5 o'clock, not Dressed.

Dear Sister — Fenwick carries you a Barrel of
Rum, which is 26/ the Gallon. Miss Goldthwaite
proposes being with you to-morrow or Thursday
morning. She came to town last night. I would
willingly give you the Adventures o£ yesterday, if I
thought I should do them justice. The strong im-
pressions they have made upon me renders me in-
capable of it. In short nothing before or since the
Black Cat has ever thrown me into greater agitation
of Spirits than the scenes I passed through yester-
day ; and, as your curiosity may be a Httle icsited,
I will inform you that not many minutes after my
Aunt set out for B-Hill Prudence^ came running
upstairs and asked if I had resolution to see the
unhappy people you have heard of, to which I an-
swered in the affirmitive, and set out immediately
for Madam Apthorp's house, the Garden ^ of which
looks into the jail yard. When we arrived there
Mrs. Snow conducted us to the fence, where we could
see them and hear them speak, but not converse with
them. We soon left her and went up toward the
common. A number of the Common Soldiers of
the Highlanders passed us with a gaurd. I re-
greted not speaking, so I turned about and persued

' Prudence Middleton, one of Mr. Smith's nieces. The High-
landers, of whom she spoke, had recently been captured on board a
transport in Boston Harbor.

2 This garden covered what is now Pemberton Square. — S. I. L.

242 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

as fast as my feet in high heeled shoes would carry
me. Vain was the attempt, and we concluded it
was best to return in hopes of meeting more when
we turned about, and what was [our] surprize to see
four Officers with a gaurd. Prudence had told me
the Duchess of Gordon's Brother (whose name I
knew to be Maxwell) was a Prisoner. That, and the
great anxiety I was in for our Uncle, occasioned a
wish to speak to them. The first three I had not
resolution to stop, but went up to the last and asked
the favor of being answered one question, and with
a faultering Voice asked if the first Battahon was
come out to America. All the Gentlemen turned
round when I stopt the last. They informed [me]
that Regiment was in England and to remain there.
Joyful sound it was to me. Still trembling so as
to be incapable of supporting myself without Pru-
dence's assistance, I asked i£ either of them Gen-
tlemen were Capt. Maxwell. A lovely Youth, who
appeared to be about twenty, Bowed an acknowledg-
ment of that name. I enquired for his Mother and
Sisters, who he told me he left well in Scotland
six weeks ago. Here my voice failed, and we all
remained in silence for the space of a minute and
parted without another word. 'T is in vain to
attempt a discription of my emotions, at that mo-
ment. We went on, and they went to the jail to
take leave of their Men, who are to be sent back into
the Country to work for their living and, it is ex-
pected, will join the American Army. This sepera-
tion they say is very painful to the men, who are

A TORY m REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON" 243

still in this town . . . Prudence and I walked
through the different Streets in hopes of having one
more view of these unfortunate Youths (who are
none of them thirty years of age), when, in turning
up School street by the King's Chapel, we met some
of the Gaurded just come from the jail to hid their
Men Adieu. Distress appeared in their Counti-
nences. Prudence and I determined not to speak a
second time, but when we came up to them they all
stopt, and Maxwell drew near and enquired if I knew
his Mother and Sisters, to which I answered I had
been frequently in company with them in Eden-
borough. I asked him in return if he knew Lady
Don's family and if they were well, which he told
me they were. With almost my former agitation^ I
wished them health and Happiness, and they soon
after set out in Paddack's Coach and four for Con-
cord, where they are to stay. If you receive any
pleasure from this stupid incorrect scroll you de-
serve it for the trouble of decyphering it. As soon
as I get home I shall make it my business to search
for it and put it out of sight, that it may not dis-
grace my memory in some future day. I am certain
the account of my Uncle will make you happy, so
'tis no matter if you are put to a little trouble in
perusing of it. Kiss Bennet for me, and tell him I
do not forget that this is his Birthday, and shall say
quietly to myself in the first glass of wine I drink
at Dr. Lovell's this evening " God help him, and

1 They had agitations in those days, but were mercifully saved
from nervous prostration. — S. I. L.

244 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

make him a Good Man, and Grant that he may never
be a Prisoner."

Some additional bits of information concerning
the changed aspect of the farm at Cambridge and
the dangers escaped by that of Brush Hill are fur-
nished by a niece of Mrs. Barnes whose initals, E. F.,
do not further reveal her identity.

E. F. TO MES. BAENES.

Cambridge, April 17th.

Now, my dearest Aunt, I take my pen with some
spirit, for certainly it cannot be long before I shall
not only have an opportunity of sending my letters,
but also hearing of you.

Such amazing overturnings have taken place since
I wrote the above, that I am at a loss how to express
my astonishment You 'will, no doubt, long before
this reaches you, hear that the King's troops have
[evacuated] the town. I have been twice there.
Good God ! What a scene — deserted by almost aU
I ever loved or knew. Mrs. Inman still remains
among us, a pubHc blessing. From her faithful
and friendly hands I received your watch, and guard
it as the rehck of my Saint. Indeed I needed no-
thing to recal your dear idea. Every new scene too
fatally convinces me of the melancholy change one
twelve month has produced, not only in my present
situation, but further prospects, sad reverse, indeed !
When will Peace with all her smiling train descend
and chase the savage passions from this wretched
country ?

A TORY m EEVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 245

The wanton destruction that presents itself to my
view wherever I turn my eyes show in the most
lively colors of civil war ruin and desolation spread
through the peaceful vales of industry, and such
enmity planted between children of the same parents
as can never be got the better of, and will not yield
to time. You will see by the date of my letter where
I am, but you can form no idea of my situation.
Only imagine to yourself two unhappy females, from
some high misdemeanor driven from the Society of
the world and every social pleasure into a wilderness
surrounded not by wild beasts, but savage men, and
destitute of the conveniences of life. Do this,
and it wiU fall short in many respects of showing
our present situation, which is no more nor less than
this, that Miss Murray and I are in Mr. Inman's
house, just as it was left by the soldiery, without
any one necessary about us, except a bed to lodge
on & Patrick for a protector & servant, in constant
fear that some outrage will be committed if it is
once discovered that one of us is connected with
Mr. Inman, to prevent which everything is done in
my name, and as soon as it is convenient I am go-
ing to let the farm and take a family into one end of
the house. You would really be diverted, could you
give a peep when Mrs. Inman visits us (which is as
often as she possibly can), to see Betsey & I resign-
ing our broken chairs & teacups, and dipping the
water out of an iron skellet into the pot as cheerfully
as if we were using a silver urn.

I cannot tell what it is owing to, unless it is see-

246 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

ing Mrs. I. in such charming spirits, that pre-
vents our being truly miserable. Tell her friends in
England not to lament her being in America at this
period, for she is now in her proper element, having
an opportunity of exerting her benevolence for those
who have neither Spirits or abihty to do for them-
selves. No (other) woman could do as she does
with impunity, for she is above the little fears and
weaknesses which are the inseparable companions of
most of our sex. One would imagine to see her
that all was peace and harmony. God grant it may
be.

Tell Mrs Powell (for we have fixed you at Nor-
wich) if she was with us, we might put into exe-
cution that plan of life we projected together, and
where it was wanting in reahty we could make up in
imagination. Oh ! that imagination cordd replace
the wood lot, the willows round the pond, the locust-
trees that so deKghtfully ornamented and shaded
the roads leading to this farm. I say, could imagi-
nation supply the place of those to the former pos-
sessor, how happy — but in vain to wish it, every
beauty of art or nature, every elegance which it cost
years of care and toil in bringing to perfection, is laid
low. It looks hke an unfrequented desert, and this
farm is an epitome of all Cambridge, the loveliest
village in America.

April 25th.

Mrs. Inman, who does every thing to render our
situation agreable to us, yesterday carried us abroad
to dine with a large company, that did us the honor

A TOEY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 247

to return and drink tea with us. Among the
number was Mrs. Temple and her three sweet
daughters, for the lovely Fanny is no more. I am
sure it would have grieved you to see her, and at
the same time to have recollected her station in hfe,
the distresses this war has involved her in, and the
fortitude with which she has borne them. Mr.
Temple absent, the farm, her only dependence I be-
lieve, almost entirely destroyed, and there was she
and the young ladies with aU the innocent cheerful-
ness you can conceive of —

" Like the gay birds that sing them to repose
Content and careless of to-morrow's fate."

They sang " Plato's Advice," which was so apph-
cable to our situation, and indeed every one's at
present, that it seemed to diffuse the serenity they
enjoyed throughout the company, and I must say
for myself I never felt anything more sensibly in
my life. She has promised to send for us one day
next week to Ten Hills. I am sure it will be an
agreable day, and not without many moral lessons.

May 7th.

Since I wrote last Miss Betsey and I have walked
to Boston and brought Miss Middleton out with us,
who spent several days here, received a morning
visit from Mrs. Temple and her niece, and spent a
day at Ten Hills. Mrs. Fenton and her family are
aU there, and Mr. William Temple, who is just ar-
rived from London. Mrs. Fenton gave me several
interesting particulars relative to your situation while

248 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

in Boston, and likewise that she brought out a let-
ter for Mrs. Bridgen with one annexed for me. I
shall not be easy tUl I receive it, and intend going
to Boston for that purpose immediately. Indeed,
my dear Aunt, if you could imagine what pleasure
a letter from you inspires me with, you would write
even in London. If it were not for that I would
throw away my pen.

Notwithstanding aU the calamities that surround
us, we have great reason to be thankful that the
seat of war is removed. God grant a speedy conclu-
sion ! Mr. Temple's opinion seems to favor my
wishes. The talking poHticians this side the hues
are struck dumb by this last mandate of Govern-
ment. But stop, my pen, nor dare to stray into a
subject which is surrounded with danger and diffi-
culty. No doubt you will hear poor Betsey Liddell
is a widow. I have a thousand trifling affairs to
inform you of, but fear swelling the size of my
letter too much, so will bid adieu for the present.
Affectionate regards to my little Chrissy.

Brush Hill, May 17.
My dearest Aunt, — This amiable family are
going to be involved in new troubles. Did I fear
for myself alone, I should be happy compared with
what I now suffer, for I have nothing to fear from
the malevolence of man, and Physical evils must be
patiently submitted to ; but when I see the few but
valuable friends I have remaining upon the point
of becoming destitute like myself, my heart sinks

A TORY IN EEVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 249

within me, and I cannot avoid exclaiming, Great
God ! surely for aU these things the people shall
be brought to judgment. I am hunted from one
retreat to another, and since I left your Ark, like
Noah's Dove, can find no resting place. The Com-
mittee at Cambridge have let Mrs. Inman's farm in
spite of all her asseduity to prevent it, and the same
tribe of Demons have been to take this into posses-
sion during the life of Mr. Murray. How unhappy
would that goodman be if he had any knowledge of
it ! I hope he will remain in ignorance as long as it
conduces to his tranquility. When this affair wUl
end God knows ! At present the people succeed in
everything. I am sure Mrs. Inman's spirits will
forsake her when she finds this family is in so much
trouble. I have been disappointed in everything
since my last writing. Even the letter I was in
pursuit of Mrs. Bridgen never received, to her great
mortification. I hope, as it is missing, it is of no
great consequence.

Nature is all blooming and benevolent around us.
I wish to Heaven she could inspire the breasts of
this deluded people with the same affectionate glow
towards each other ! but every social virtue seems
to have taken flight with peace to happier regions,
and left us miserable mortals involved in clouds and
darkness, without one cheerful ray to point the way
to happiness. May eternal curses fall on the heads
of those who have been instrumental to this coun-
try's ruin.

250 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Marlborough, June 9'*, 1776.
My dearest Aunt, — Business has made it ne-
cessary that I should once more visit a place to which
I thoup^ht I had bid a last adieu. It is now three
months since I have heard one word of Boyd, or
those effects deposited in his hands, & I made no
doubt in that time he had had frequent opportuni-
ties of conveying them either to me or Mr. Clark,
if he meant honestly. Whichever that is the case
or not. Heaven knows. He still refuses giving
them to me, declaring it is not in his power. Capt.
Davis is of a contrary opinion, but what can be said
or done in times like these, that authorize every
species of injustice ? I told him I did not think
it would be in my power to take another journey,
and as Mr. Clark was my Uncle's attorney I would
advise him, when he could with convenience, to put
them in his possession, and he (Boyd) should be
rewarded for his trouble. He replied with an air
of indifference that he should like to give them to
the right owner, though he does not seem inclined
to take one step for that purpose, and I dare say
thinks he has as good a right to it as any one. I
have been here since Tuesday, and shall go to-mor-
row at sunrise, for you can easily imagine that there
is nothing in this place that can induce me to stay
a day longer than is absolutely necessary. Yester-
day I took a walk to the Distil house, which is now
turned into Salt Petre works, and from being the
Pool of Bethesda is made use of to manufacture a
commodity for the destruction of the human species.

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 251

All your furniture removed over to ttie shop cham-
ber, except the family pictures, which still hang in
the Blue Room, & the Harpsichord that stands in
the passage way, to be abused by the children and
servants in passing through. Mr. Knox found it
inconvenient to be moving furniture, so has taken
nothing but the Linnen, which at this juncture is
by far the most valuable part. I find my fears
on that head were not groundless, & I suppose the
pretense of my Uncle's making an exchange was
a piece of chicanery in order to succeed without
opposition. Katy Keyes lives in Worcester, Lavinia
with her sister, and Daphney is to remain in Capt.
Davis' family till the town is entirely free from the
infection of the Small Pox. She appears "very grate-
ful that her son is left behind, and intends keeping
house with him when she leaves this family. Adieu !
May every present and future good be constant and
faithful attendants on you & my dear Uncle, and
sometimes think on your unhappy niece, who now
bids farewell to this place forever.

Bkush Hill, June 16*.

Eejoice with me, my dear Aunt, this infernal
crew cannot succeed in taking the farm from this
amiable family. The Almighty Father of infinite
perfection wiU not permit them to prosper in all their
wickedness, but bounds their power, and shields
the virtuous from the threatened blow. May it be
so to the end, and may our rulers ever be able to
discriminate between those who have acted from a

252 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

well meant but perhaps deluded & false notion of
serving their country and those who have nothing
further in view than to pull down all above them to
their own level. Oh Heavens ! how I wish for a
final period to this dreadful contest, and yet dread
the insolence of Victory. I insensibly wander into
a subject I ought to avoid, but you cannot wonder,
as it so nearly effects not only myself but every
individual this side the Atlantic. It is reported here
that Gen. Burgoyne is crossing the Lake with a vic-
torious army & that the poor remains of the Amer-
ican Army have retreated to Ticonderoga, after
having encountered dangers & difficulties that can
be only equalled by Hannibal passing the Alps. If
it might be productive of Peace I should rejoice.
The Small pox is again going through the town of
Boston, and people are as solicitous now to have as
formerly to fly from this dreadful distemper. You
will easily believe this when I tell you the three
Miss Barkers are now under inoculation. I hope
they will have more to show for it than you &
Chrissey, as I greatly fear, from the account Mrs.
Inman gives me, you will both run the risk of catch-
ing it in the natural way. All Capt. Davis' family
are in town, and Daphney among the rest. Mrs.
Forbes' little ones are at Mrs. Inman's, and Tom
Swan, Jr., with Miss Polly Speakman to take care
of him. You can have no idea of the melancholy
situation of Madam & Mrs. Belcher. They left
Brush Hill with a design of building immediately,
instead of which [no] materials nor workmen are to

A TORY IN REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON 253

be procured, and they are under a necessity of
making use of their out houses to shelter them from
the weather ; the coach house is their dining room,
and Fowl house their bed-chamber, but the old lady
looks majestic even there, and dresses with as much
elegance as if she was in a palace. Mrs. Belcher has
all along supported her spirits to a marvel, but now
her health is so bad, her friends think her far gone
in a consumption ; but age has so far befriended the
old Lady that notwithstanding Mrs. Belcher has ever
shone in the character of a daughter, and been a
faithful prop to her declining years, she views her
approaching dissolution with less agitation than
she beheld the flames consuming her house. Miss
Winslow is with them still, and their distresses are
so great that they have disposed of their plate to
purchase necessaries. Adieu, my dear Aunt. I do
not intend to take my pen again tiU. I have a pro-
spect of either hearing from you, or forwarding my
letters.

Sept. 25*\

At length, my dearest Aunt, the long wished for
moment is arrived that presents an opportunity for
sending my letters. Mrs. Fenton is going home to
England in a vessel that has obtained leave from
those in power, and unless detained by the populace,
who are more variable than the winds, will sail in a
few days. There is very great news from New
York, which I imagine you have more authentic
accounts of than we have. Mr. Bob Temple is
expected in town in a few days, by whom I flatter

254 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

myself I shall hear particularly from you, if I have
no letters. ... I have perused what I wrote at dif-
ferent times, and thmk I have been sufficiently cau-
tious, and as particular as I can be m everything I
thought you would wish to know, and when the
present distraction of the times is subsided I promise
myself the pleasure of a journal of all the maneu-
vers and occurrences, or if you think the request
too unreasonable make Christy your amanuensis.
It will be a high gratification to me, and I shall
endeavour by every method in my power to make
her some compensation for the trouble. . . .

Pray give my affectionate duty to my Uncle.
Love to Christy and all my American acquaintances
you may meet with on the other side of the water.
Miss Betsey Barker & her niece Sally have been
here for several days. The latter is writing to you
at the other end of the table, so it will be needless
for me to give you an account of their family, which
I dare say she intends doing herself. Mrs. Forbes &
Miss Murray join me in every tender wish for your
happiness, that you may again be restored to your
native country, to your friends, and above all to the
arms of your dutiful niece.

All friends well.

Jan. 1777. Your E. F.

CHAPTEK V

IN EXILE
1776-1781

Now began for James Murray the weary life
of banishment, the pathos of which was so many
times repeated in the history of the Revolutionary
exiles.

He went first to Halifax, then an extremely prim-
itive settlement, where he estabhshed his wife with
her sister, Mrs. Gordon, who had preceded them.
But he could not be content to stay so far from his
sister and children, and soon, as he puts it, he came
" creeping toward " them, hoping at least to be able
more easily to communicate with them and to serve
them by sending occasional supplies. He visited
Newport, New York, and Philadelphia. Evidently,
however, he found himself no nearer the accomplish-
ment of his wishes in New York than in Halifax,
and to Hahfax in 1778, after some two years spent
in profitless wandering, he returned. There he re-
mained for the rest of his life.

His letter from New York is short and non-com-
mittal.

256 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

JAMES MURRAY TO ELIZABETH INMAN, DOROTHY
FORBES, AND ELIZABETH MURRAY.

New York, November 7th, 1776.

My Dear Sister and Children, — ... I am
. . . glad of this opportunity to acquaint you of my
health and Welfare and of my Intention of creeping
toward you with the first fit Conveyance, which it is
stiU hoped will happen before Christmass. Some
Refugees of us have now fixt in Quarters about five
or six miles from New York, where we live very
quiet and retired, well suppUed with the necessaries
of Life, much more comfortably than we could be at
Halifax. There your Sister and Servants remain in
her own house for the Winter.

The Capt., Mrs. Linzee and Children, lately re-
turned to this harbour, are all well, and so is George,^
now an Ensign in the 17th Regiment much esteem'd
in the Army.

I had the happiness of hearing that Mr. Inman,
you Ladies and the boys were aU well in September.
A Mr. Campbell, who came with Mr. Reid from
Boston, brought this word.

By the last Accounts from St. Augustine, Mr.
Forbes and Son were well. He is appointed Chief
Justice, for the time, in the room of Mr. Drayton,
whom the Governor has Suspended and who is gone
to England with Doctor Turnbull. Remember me
sincerely to Brother Inman and be assured that I am
Most affectionately yours.

1 George Inman, son of Ralph Inman.

ELIZABETH MURRAY (MRS. ROEBIXS)

IN EXILE 257

From another exile, Thomas Hutchinson, then in
London, Mr. Murray had received an interesting
letter ^ which emphasizes Hutchinson's affection for
his country, as he always called America, and is, in
sentiment, quite indicative of Mr. Murray's own feel-
ings on the subject of the war.

THOMAS HUTCHINSON TO JAMES MURRAY.

London, New Bond Street, March 3, 1777.

Deae Sir, — I thank you for a very obliging
letter of the 12th January from Newport. It gave
me pleasure to reflect that I had wrote to you, some
weeks before the receipt of your letters, to New
York. I am glad to hear that you have met with
no more difficulties since you left Boston. I have
advantages here beyond most of the Americans, as
I have a very extensive acquaintance with the best
people ; but I prefer the natale solum to all other :
and it will give me great pleasure to hear you are
peaceably settled at Brush-hill, and that I may settle
as peaceably on Unkity Hill. I hope to live to see
not only my Milton neighbors, but the people of the
Province in general, convinced that I have ever sin-
cerely aimed at their true interest ; and that, if they
had followed my advice, they would have been free
from all that distress and misery which the envious,
restless spirits of a few designing men have brought
upon them.

I have been charged in America with false and
unfavorable representations of the people there. I

1 Now printed in the Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc. vol. v. [1860-1862].

258 JAMES MUKKAY, LOYALIST

am charged here with neglecting to give advice of
their intentions to revolt, and representing the body
of the people as disposed to live quietly under the
authority of Parliament, and to take no exception to
any other acts than those of taxation, which I ever
endeavored to discourage. . . .

I am obliged to you for inquiring into the State of
my farm on Conanicut. I had been improving it by
fencing, planting, &c, for near forty years ; but all
my labor is lost. And I fear my estate in Milton is
not in much better order. At least eleven hundred
pounds sterling was taken out of my house, and off
the farm, in movables. I know not how to obtain
redress. . . .

I say nothing about public affairs, nor do I con-
cern myself with them : nor am I ever inquired of
or consulted about them ; and I am glad I am not.
It is astonishing, considering the immense expense
of this war, and the stop put to the American trade,
that nobody seems to feel it. Every merchant and
manufacturer, except a few who were factors for
America, are as full of business as ever ; and, in
the manufacturing towns, they are fuller of business,
from the increase of demand in other branches, than
before the American War. With this amazing; em-
pire it is the unhappy case of my poor country to
contend. May God Almighty, in mercy, put an
end to this contest ! Your brother's family is well.
Adieu ! I am y' faithful, humble serv'

T. H.

James Murray, Esquire, of Milton,
in Mass. Bay. At Newport, R. I.

m EXILE 259

The Barneses, too, wrote to Mr. Murray. They
had fled to England and were among the notable
group of loyahsts settled in Bristol.^ Their pro-
perty in Marlborough was confiscated, their house-
hold goods scattered. Limited in means, but still
possessed of irrepressibly cheerful spirits, Mrs.
Barnes continued at intervals to write to her friends
amusing accounts of her domestic doings and of the
society in which she moved.^ But, as her path was

' Their first home was in Cannon's Marsh, Bristol. Afterward
they removed to King Street, where they had a "grand old edifice,"
from which could be seen " the Play House, the Assembly House,
the Merchants Hall and the Merchants Library."

^ On April 1st, 1786, she wrote to the Misses Barker : " Wee have
seventeen American familys in Bristol, very Genteel well bred Peo-
ple, all of one heart, and one mind. In this circle we are treeted
with Cordiality and respect, being quite upon a footing with them in
the stile of Vissiting which is no more than Tea and cards — a little
parade (to be sure) is nessisary upon these ocations in order to keep
up the Ball, but aS' it is not attended with much Expence we readily
consent to follow the Lead." One more extract may be given as an
aside. It is from a letter of hers written to the Misses Barker on
September 5th, 1786, some time after Mrs. Inman's death : " Spent
some part of yesterday in foolishly endeavoring to decorate my sweet
person, being engaged to a rout at Mrs. Maud's. Before this busi-
ness of importance was over, it began to rain ; this did not put a stop
to my proceeding, for as hackney coaches and chairs are always to be
had, it is not expected any weather will prevent your f ullfllling your
ingagement, but this additional expence attending our tea vissits I
have ever carefully avoided, so, with my umbrella over my head, and
pattens on my feet at six o'clock I tript away like a fairy. I know you
will snule at the comparison, but I do assure you that a new pair of
stays has thrown me almost into the form of a milkmaid. My short
waist, which once caused your sister Sally to exclaim violently, is now
of a proportionable length. As I do not design to trouble you again
with an account of my dress and appearence I will now finish all I
have to say upon the subject. I wore on my head a new tate which
I purchased not from nessesity, for my hair is in much the same state

260 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

now a widely divergent one, her letters must be passed
by, and we must take of her a reluctant farewell.

To add to Mrs. Inman's trials, when those she
loved were slipping from her and her worldly pos-
sessions also were taking wing, her nephew, John
Murray, announced his intention of quitting the
business house of Clark & Nightingale in Provi-
dence, where he was receiving a mercantile training,
and of joining the American army. His letter to
Mrs. Inman is not with the family papers, but her
protest to John Innes Clark and her cautious note
to the youth himself are as follows : —

ELIZABETH INMAN TO JOHN INNES CLAEK. i

Boston, January 4th, 1777.

Dear Sib, — Words are wanting to express my
surprise and concern at reading J. Murrays letter by
Mr. Sherry. I hope I never have nor never wiU
give so much pain to an enemy as this does to me
who has gloried in thinking I was his Aunt and
friend. I have ever been proud of your Candor,
generosity. Humanity, friendship and affection to
me. I now rely on these good qualities and your
promise. If your and Mr. Nightengale's authority

as formerly, but from a principle of frugality, & to save trouble. . . .
I have dismembered a pair of past earings to make handkerchiefe
and hair pins, which, with my good Uncle Perries watch by my side
gives me no contemptible figure. Have I done ? Why no I have
not; I ware in my shoes a pair of stone buckles presented to me by
my much lamented friend Mrs. Inman, and a ring upon my finger
sent to me from Norwich, as a mento of our mutual friendship, the
recolection of which thros a damp upon my spirits and obliges me
to put aside my scribbling."

m EXILE 201

is not sufficient to Check this youth I beg you '11
make an errand for him to Boston. When I took
him from his Fathers House I looked on myself as
accountable to Him for the boy till he arrived at
the age of 21. At that time I intended to advise
him to visit his family and consult with them about
settling. If he determins on taking up arms
against them, farewell to his Fathers and Mothers
happiness. They will bid adieu to their eldest
darling Son and end their days in sorrow. Their
fondness for him made them expect he would be
the stay of the large family and the support of
their old age. How blasted then their hopes.
For God's sake let it not be. Assist me in Clearing
him. Consider you have children, tho' young ; you
do not like disabedience in them, how would oposi-
tion Hke this affect you.

My respects to your Ladys. I expected to see
them before Christenmas. Their company will give
me pleasure. Adieu.

ELIZABETH MDEEAY TO JOHN MUKRAT.

Boston, January 4tli, 1777.

Dear Jack, — I received yours by Mr. Sherry.
I think you take leave in an easy manner. I ask'd
your Cousin to allow you to come here before
Christenmas. He used to take a jaunt from London
to Wells at that season. Are not you as much
attached to your friends as he was to his ? If you

are you will intercede with Messrs Clark and N

to visit me before you quit being a Merchant.

262 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

Her nephew was, apparently, by her persuasions,
kept from carrying out his intentions.

In June, 1777, Mr. Murray was again in New
York, though he had previously spent some time in
Newport. His letter of that date is more communi-
cative than his last.

JAMES MUEEAT TO DOEOTHT FOEBES AND ELIZABETH
MUKEAY.

New Yore, June 19tli, 1777.

Dear Childeei?, — I have already wrote to you
since my return hither, by the Flag which brought
in Mr. Ben. Davis ; then I told you that my return
was occasioned by your Mamma ; the good people at
Halifax having persuaded her that Ehode Island
would certainly be retaken by the Provincials. Since
my arrival I have wrote to her inviting her and the
Miss Cumings to this place, when a safe conveyance
offers.

I have lodged three weeks with Mr. Mackaj'', who
has sold out of the 52d and whose wife, with good
prospects, has commenced shop keeper. Yesterday I
came to lodge at Mr. Bamper's^ on Long Island,
opposite New York, a pleasant place, with the rivers,

^ The only Benjamin Davis mentioned by Sabine (vol. i. p. 359)
is the Addresser of Hutchinson and of Gage. He went first to Hal-
ifax, but afterwards set out for New York, and was captured on his way
and carried to Marblehead, and thence to Boston, where he was, in
October, 1776, imprisoned. If he is the Mr. Davis mentioned by
Mr. Murray, he must have been set at liberty and allowed to proceed
to New York early in the summer of 1777.

^ Mr. Hamper's was at what is now the corner of Willow and
Clark streets, Brooklyn.

IN EXILE 263

the shipping and city under the eye, good gardens,
orchards and green fields under foot, in the neigh-
bourhood of Mrs. Linzee, Mr. Ward, Col. Tyng^
and Mr. Walter and their famiUes. I could be
no where so agreeable from home ; so I have good
reason, having good health and spirits to relish all
this, to be thankful and to wait with patience and
resignation the issue of this dispute, especially as I
hear you pass your time more peaceably than many
others do. I shall not forget to be grateful, when
in my power, to those who treat you and Brother
and Sister Inman well.

Mr. Powell, as I wrote you, has made a genteel
settlement on his Son, to enable him to prosecute
his studies. The young family has taken a little
house at Lambeth and have a Son. . . .

Capt. Mulcaster, now one of Gen. Howe's Aid-de-
Camps, wishes to see Mrs. Forbes and her Boys,
says Mr. Forbes and Jammie were weU by the last
accounts. That Mr. Drayton was reinstated as Chief
Justice, I have wrote to Mr. F. by a Vessel which
lately sailed for St. Augustme. . . .

PoUy's Merchants have made her very genteel
offers. I have sent for the remainder of her goods
to come hither and to be insured. Goods find here
a good market and ready money .^

1 Probably William, son of Commodore Tyng. (See Sabine's
Loyalists of the Am. Rev. vol. ii. p. 369.) He went from Halifax to
New York when the royal troops entered that city.

^ Mary Murray's goods were given into the care of Mr. Thomas
Kobie, a refugee settled in Halifax.

264 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

I do not address this either to Brother or Sister
Inman, imagining they are not desirous of corre-
spondents, in these times.

Let your letters for me be directed to care of
Messrs. CofBns and Anderson, New York. Mr A.
gone to London to bring out another large assort-
ment. That house, very deservedly, has the ball at
foot ; the present gale is in their favour.

Captain SainthiU with whom I dined to-day at
Mrs. Linzee's gives us the latest and most particu-
lar accounts of our friends in Boston that we have
had for some time.

By the latest letters from the refugees at home,
many of them eagerly wish for an opening to re-
turn, notwithstanding the great attention paid to
them there. I have a letter from Mr. & Mrs.
Barnes of February 17th. They were well and
desirous to hear frequently from this side. I strive,
at times, to gratify them. The Doctor and his nu-
merous family were well in February, as his letter
to his Son says. I shall desire Jack, i£ at Provi-
dence, to peruse these letters and forward them to
you. Had my interview with your Cousin John
Innes Clark at Newport been as deliberate and free
as I wished, most of these letters would have been
sent by him ; as it was, they could not be delivered
to him without giving much trouble to the Sec-
retary, with whom I was not acquainted.

When in a former letter I expressed my desire
to retm-n to Brush-hiU and to take that for my
prison, could you find no other motive for that than

IN EXILE 265

necessity? Your apprehensions about my salary
being withheld are groundless. Government is dis-
posed rather to add than diminish at such a time as
this.'

God bless and preserve you aU — that is

Adieu.

1 Mr. Murray continued to receive some salary from England for
three or four years after leaving Boston. In 1777 his friend Charles
Stewart wrote that the sum of about £150 a year might be de-
pended on. Extracts from Mr. Stewart's letters are as follows : —

April 14, 1777. " If you dont think of coming home soon, it will
be better to send a letter of Attorney to some friend here to receive
from the Cashier §• Paymaster of His Majesty's Customs in North
America the Salary that now is or shall hereafter become due unto you
as Inspector Sfc. — and if you think proper to insert my name with
a power of substitution, I will substitute some person who may sign
the proper receipts for you here, and it shall he no expense to you ;
and if you find it necessary for your present support or Mrs. Mur-
ray's, you may draw on me for the remainder of your Salary as it
shall become due. I could have readily got your leave of absence re-
newed, but it is not worth while to put you to any expence about it.

" The power of our Board ceased upon their leaving America, but
the Treasury have granted Warrants on me for paying the salaries
from 5 July last as usual, also to all the Officers of the Outports now
in England and the Officers in the Colonies not in Rebellion. Most
of the Officers now at home, & those also of whose offices depended
chiefly on fees, receive also a further allowance from 30 to £100 a
year and other sufferers from 50 to £300 a year, for their present
subsistence."

August 28, 1777. " I desired you to send a letter of Attorney for
receiving your salary, or, if more agreeable, send a receipt for
£187-10- for your Salary as Inspector of Imports & Exports of the
Customs in North America from 5 July 1776 to 10 October 1777,
and send one quarterly afterward^ for £37.10 — as the salary shall
become due. Without such receipts or an Attorney signing for you,
I cannot take credit for your Salary in my books.

" The late news from the Northern Army gives us great Spirits
& we will be daily looking out for further agreeable accounts from
both.

266 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

June 21s<.

Yesternight I heard the following articles of in-
telligence, which may or may not be news to you.
W. H., afronted that Mr. Hughs, his Brother dele-
gate, was left out in election, resigned his seat in
Congress : Mr. Harnett chosen in his room. Mrs.
Cobham, Maurice Moore, General James Moore
dead. Bdly Campbell succeeds to an estate of ten
thousand pounds by the Will of his Wife's Brother,
who died in Jamaica. Tedy Gregg and Burgwin
still at homes, in England one, in Ireland another.

Bdly and Sam C and Bob Schaw will be

obhged to leave Carolina for not taking the oaths to
the states, and so must several Scotch, for the hke
crime. John Rowan still at Barbadoes. Several
Refugees, to be out of the way, have gone to Hve at
Point Repose. Mr. Ancrum high Whig. Mr.
Rutherfurd not molested. Fanny well married at
home to a Mr. Menzie — his two sons under Ld.
Townsend's protection put to a free school in Eng-
land. L. 700 Ster. of Col. Innes estate, which had
been many years in Governor Dinwiddie's hands,
recovered for carrying on this education. This is
all I can recollect.

Yours affectionately.

A letter from Elizabeth Murray to her father
shows what trying times these were for the loyalists
remaining in Massachusetts.

IN EXILE 267

ELIZABETH MURKAT TO JAMES MURRAY.

Brush-hill, Oof 29"' 1777.
Not having heard from you, my Dear Sir, since the
month of June, when we received your two very
pleasing letters of that month, accompanied by the
large packet from our Friends on the other side the
Atlantic, which gave us inexpressible pleasure, I am
again induced to take up the Pen in hopes of having
an answer by the return of the Cartel. You are too
well acquainted with our anxieties to deny us that
satisfaction if it is in your power to gratify us, there-
fore I will not trouble you with a repitition of the
pain your silence occasions, but proceed to a plain
state of facts which may be most interesting to you.
My Aunt, M' I, & all our other connexions enjoy
their usual good share of health. As to our spirits.
Sir, I leave you to judge of them from the late
event of a public Nature.^ Silence upon that sub-
ject is necessary, so I can only say that all your
friends are much in the same situation as when I
last wrote except our own family which has met with
a material . . . alteration which we have wished
much to have the melancholy conse-
quences of unha past been encreasing

the miseries of this once peaceful

Country. Exclusive of the anxiety we suffered in
being seperated from so many beloved Friends we
have not been exempt from the other inconveniences
arising from the Public calamity. Labour being at
such an exorbitant price, as well as every Necessary

1 Probably the surrender of Burgoyne.

268 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

which the Farm did not produce, with the addition
of the most intolerable Taxes, presented the very dis-
agreeable prospect of hourly envolving ourselves in
debt, without a single expectation of being extri-
cated ; our Cousin, J. I. C.,^ upon a visit here in
the month of July, & having no settled place of
abode, we with my Aunt's consent made an ofEer of
the Farm to him for one Year, which he accepted,
& has been here for the last three Months with M"
C. and their only Child, a Boy of three years old.
My Sister & her youngest Son continue in their
family. Jack has been several Months in Town
with my Aunt attending school. I am sometimes in
Town, & sometimes here. M'° H.^ & her Son upon
this new arrangement ... d to M™ Winslow's of

Braintree where we pay Nine m which

is now thought very moderate three

for the latter. M" H. is become as

good health as ever she was. As she has received
nothing from M"^ Erving for two years & her ex-
pences are so great, she must soon draw upon him
for £100 °'^. It would not be improper to have her
Son Tom^ (who has lately been a favourite of For-
tune) informed particularly of her situation. I in-
close a letter from Miss G 1.* She desires her

respects may be offered to you, & begs the favour
of having the letter directed properly, & forwarded.
She wiU spend the Winter here I beheve, in com-
phance with the kind invitation of M' and M" C,

1 John Innes Clark. 2 Mrs. Hooper.

^ He was in North Carolina. * Miss Goldthwaite.

m EXILE 269

whose family will be large enough to form an agree-
able Fire Side for the ensuing Season. M' C has
Hired three Men to work upon the Farm, seems in-
clined to make every improvement in his power, &
must certainly succeed in it better than we could.

The present circumscribed way of writing renders
it a disagreeable task, which must be an excuse for
my not writing to my Friends on the other side the
Water.

... I wrote to my Cousin Mary some Months
ago for some Shoes & a pair of Stays to be sent to
you with the Ace' of them, which I must ask the
favor of you to discharge, & keep the articles till a
favorable opportunity offers of sending them. We
begin to feel the want of wearing apparel so much
that we are under the necessity of requesting you
should there be any Person coming in the Cartel or
otherwise who may be confided in to send us 1 dozen
pair of Cotton Stock"', 1 doz: p or 1/2 doz: of
Rusel or everlasting Shoes, Mode or Sattin with
lace, lining, & all the materials for making a black
Cloak & Bonnet, these by no means to be sent but
by a person of known honor & honesty. . . .

JAMES MTXRRAT TO MRS. FOEBES AND E. MUEKAT.
Philadelphia, February 11th, 1778.

My Dbae Children, — On the Receipt of my
Betsey's Letter of the 29 Ocf, I wrote the 24 Dec'
to James Dall at Messrs Coffin's and Andersons in
New York to send out by a safe hand the articles by
her desired. I have Mr. Dall's answer that he would

270 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

do so and expect by the nest Vessel his Account of
them.

The greatest Inconvenience of my Situation here
is that of being out of the way of hearing from my
Family and Friends so frequently as I wish. To
remedy this, I purpose to return, when the season
will permit, to Rhode Island. But whether I shall
first go to Halifax to fetch your Mamma and her
Servants or send for them thither, I have not yet
determined. This will depend on the Conveyance
that may offer, or on the public Movements that
may be like to take place. But I shall strive to
avoid such a tedious wandering as the last Summer
and Autumn gave me. One great Inducement to
be at Rhode Island, I shall be at hand to send you
some of the Necessaries you stand most in need of,
you concerting for their safety at and from Provi-
dence. Mr. Ed. Winslow is to supply his Father
that way. . • .

I was sorry to have missed the York Sloop, a Flag
which saU'd the other day for Boston before I was
apprised of it, but am happy to have the favour of
Mr. Clark to make me amends for that Loss. Capt.
Linzee and George^ will also write by him. All
your friends here are well and hearty, hopeing you
preserve spirits equally cheerful and good. Remem-
ber me affectionately to my Friends. I wrote to
Mr. Barnes and inclosed Miss G's Letter. No word
from St. Augustine. Adieu.

i. e. — May God preserve and support you in the

1 George Inman.

IN EXILE 271

firm persuasion that Almighty Power will over-rule
and direct, not only the present little Contest, but
all Events in such Manner as to Infinite Wisdom
and Goodness seems fittest and best.

Mrs. Fokbes and Miss Murray
At Brush-hill, Milton. Favoured by Mr. Clark.

[List of articles sent and directions as to their
transportation :]

6 y'^ everlasting or Eusel for Shoes,

12 pair middhng sized Mens Stock^^,

Black Sattin or Mode for a Cloak & Bonnet,

Lining, Lace, Ribbon Sewing SUk for the same,

2 y** white figured Gause,

3 y^ Black D°,

6 y"^ Blond Lace,

6 y'^^ Black D",

some narrow & wide Pink & white Ribbons.

If leave can be obtain'd for these articles to be
sent, think it the safest way to commit them to the
care of some of the Captains or other Gentlemen
that come round in the transports for Gen' : B.

Army. If M' M. is not at New York would be

glad to have the Ace' sent with them & a Bill for
the Amount shall be sent by the first oppor''.

Whether or not he left Philadelphia before the
evacuation or again witnessed the abandonment of
an American city by the British troops, the letters
do not say. One disappointment after another dis-
couraged him, however, whenever he planned to

272 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

reach his children, and in September, 1778, came
the Act of Banishment to make the separation more
complete. His name was on the list of those who
were forbidden to return to Massachusetts, and for
a time he did not dare even to write to his immedi-
ate family.

JAMES MUERAT TO JOHN INNES CLARK.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dec. 28, 1778.

Dear Sir, — Taking the Hint of a few Hnes

from Mrs. F to Captain Mul[caster], I carry on

my Correspondence with you in preference to my
nearer Connexions, in the belief that I shall thereby
give less perplexity to them and less Umbrage to
the executive Powers of your State. Let this suf-
fice for an Apology to you and them.

The last Cartel not returning hither has been a
great Disappointment to all of us who had Friends
and Kelations with you from whom we were anxious
to hear. So desirous is your old Uncle to know
how his Family and friends fare and to afford the
means of Departure to such of them who choose it,
that he has had it in Contemplation to go a Passen-
ger in this Cartel, the Master of which (Dunlap) is
of his Acquaintance ; but his Friends tell him that
the Depth of Winter, joined to the Winter of his
Life, would be too severe for him on your Coast.
This added to the Anxiety of Mrs. M., who suffered
much in her health by his late two years Absence,
has postponed, not laid aside, the Intention of his
Voyage ; for he cannot entertain so mean an Opin-

IN EXILE 273

ion of your Magistrates as to suspect that any of
them would vex or molest even a proscribed Refu-
gee, far past his speed, for coming peaceably in a
Cartel to carry off any of his belongings which can
be of no use to them. With these dispositions you
may expect to see this same Uncle of yours, if any
opportunity like this offers in the Spring. He is
the more anxious to make this Visit, that he may
bring off what choose to come and take leave of
those that mean to stay, previous to the Voyage
which he and Mrs. M. purpose for England in the
Course of next Summer. He has been loth to quit
this Shore and will be Loth, while there is a glim-
mering of Hope of returning to his beloved abode
in Peace and credit.

We shall know early in the ensuing year whether
G. Britain means to exert herself to cut up Inde-
pendency by the Eoots, or whether she intends to
consent or Connive to the Propagation of that
blessed Plant, with the fruits of which you expect
to be regaled and enriched. In the latter Case, we
Refugees must make the best Shift we can. They
will suffer most who have most to loose, who are
the most attached to their Wealth, and who have
many Days and a large family to enjoy it. [Your]
Uncle has but little to lose, a few days to Hve, a
small family to subsist, and is as detached from the
world as most people. Therefore if America acts
— herself, he may not only be easy, but rejoice ;
but if she wiU only play the fool in quitting
the substance for the shadow, as many men of

274 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

many minds have done before her — No more of
politics.

If my Children and Grand Children, all or any
of them, finding a proper Company, choose to come
with the Return of this Cartel, I have no objections ;
they shall meet with a hearty Welcome and the best
reception we are able to give. There will be no
Want of the Necessaries of Life, however short they
may be kept as to the Fineries of it. But if they
are not very uneasy in their present Circumstances,
I do not insist on their Company, till it can be had
with more convenience to all Parties. My Health
has not been better these several years, having but
a small and easy share of that Debility which at-
tends age. They may depend I will not leave this
side of the Atlantic without first seeing my Family
and dearest Friends.

We have advice of a few necessaries that were
sending by our Friend Mr. A. from New York in
a Cartel for the Convention Troops. Hope they
arrived safe. If any further supply is wanted you
or they will be pleased to let me know.

Wishing you all the compliments of the season
and an honourable peace in the course of the year
I am Dear Sir

Your afEectionate Uncle.

Mrs. Miuray was eager to go to England, but her
husband clung to the land which held his children.
" For your Pa's part," he wrote them, in April, 1780,
when he was almost persuaded to go, " it will be

IN EXILE 275

with much reluctance that he will leave America,
where he has enjoyed so many happy years." Three
months later he had definitely decided to remain in
Halifax, and Mrs. Murray, in spite of all her plans,
did not leave him. Some solace for being again
baffled in his efforts to visit Massachusetts he may
have found in purchasing the articles for " Mrs.
Inman, Daughter Forbes, E. M., and boys Jack and
Ralph," mentioned in the hst appended to his
August letter.

JAMES MUEEAT TO ELIZABETH MUREAY.

Halifax, August 2d, 1780.

My Deak Betsey, — As you the most frequently
favoiu" me with your Correspondence, you are the
best entitled to Returns in kind : With the rest we
must be content to preserve and cultivate a Silent
regard and Affection, tiU times mend.

Annexed is a list of things sent you by Mr.
Bean's Cartel, which I hope you have by this Time
received safe. For the story of his detention here, I
refer to him. He, Mr. White, and other passengers
deterr'd me from sending you some pieces of Linen
by the last Cartel, assuring me it would be seized on
its arrival with you. I was afterwards laugh'd at, by
others for my SimpHcity and Credulty, being assured
that your rulers had too much honour to seize a small
supply of Necessaries sent by a Refugee, for the use
of his family. Upon the strength of this, I now
send the Articles mentioned in the second Mem-o,
which I wish safe to you. One piece of the linen.

276 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

you'll observe is for Miss Peggy McNeill at Mr.
Jno. Boises, 25 yds. at 3/ L.3.15, and is in part of
L.4.6.4 I received for her from Mr. Hill. For the
remaining 11/4 please to let her have the value in
everlasting and binding.

I proposed to have made you a Visit in this
Cartel, but was pohtely refused by our Lieu*. Gov',
vrhether in diffidence or in Compassion to me I know-
not. I have not now, as formerly, the honour to be
acquainted with the Governors and Rulers in the
Land.

Since my last, which attended a Letter from your
Aunt Bennet to you and another from me to my
Boy Jack Forbes, I have received the inclosed for
you, forwarded by Mr. Deblois, and another from
him to his Mrs. Deblois. Letters also from the
Doctor and Polly, hers from Portsmouth so late as
6th May. She had been convoying her Sister
Powel, who was there to embark with one of her
three boys on board the Beaver, Capt Powel, to
join her Husband at Quebec. AU our Friends at
home were well.

Since I cannot get to you, you shall be welcome
here to me, provided you meet with good Company
for your Passage, and do not run the risk of being
carried to New York, by the Prisoners, as other
Cartels have been, and provided also you have your
Aunt's and Sisters Consent. I despair of this, and
on second thoughts contradict this paragraph.

More of the black lasting is sent, that you may
barter it for other necessaries.

IN EXILE 277

Your Mama has sold part of her and Mrs. Gor-
don's tenements here, purposes to sell the rest
beginning of next month, having got her Sisters
Power for that Purpose, and after that seems bent
to go and join her Sister in Edinburgh. I have not
the least desire to stir, but shall stay and take my
Chance, some where on this side of the water, but
not in this Expensive place, Halifax. Let this
explain the Contradiction of the foregoing para-
graph by

Your affectionate Father.

. June 13th, 1780.
Account of articles sent by Mr. Beane's Cartel to Miss Betsey
Murray in Boston. — viz. —

Everlasting 4 yards. Binding 1 piece, Nankeen
4| yds. Of Gingham, 2 gown patterns. 2 pair red
Shoes from M. Q} for the Boys Jack and Ralph,
a parcel from M. C. to Mrs. Brigden, 1 pair silk
shoes and some flowers from Mrs. Casey to E. M.
and D. F., 2 gauze handkerchiefs and 2 feathers by
J. M. as ordered, Gutheries Geographical Gram-
mar . . . , Lock on education, a parcel of dark
cotton for a gown A. E. C. to Mrs. Forbes, 1 pair
hoU'd gloves, a muslin handkerchief and 1 pair
from Mrs. M. to Sister Inman.

4 muslin handker" Mrs M. to D. F. & E. M.
21 p-s Wire and an old gown Mrs. M. to E. M.,

5 childrens books Mrs M. for the boys Jack & .

1 A. & E. Cummings ?

278 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

August 2d, 1780.
There are now sent in the Cartel with 5 pieces
of linen directed by my hand with ... on the linen,

and with pen and ink on the b ., 1 p's 25

yds. for Sister Inman, 1 p's 25 yds. at 3/ Cur-
rency for Miss Peggy McNeill, 2 p-s 48 yds. for
Daughters Forbes and E. M., 1 pr. 25 yds. for the
boys Ralph and Jack, 1 lb. thread, 1 p-s Everlast-
ing 30 yds., 2 p-s tape binding, 1 lb. white Nuns
thread, ^ lb. finer Ditto, 1 lb. black thread (not
sent).

His daughters' interests were ever uppermost in
his mind. In the upheaved state of the country
Mrs. Forbes's return to St. Augustine was practi-
cally an impossibility, though the subject of the
journey was occasionally discussed, as in the next
letter from Mr. Murray.

JAMES MUKEAT TO DOEOTITY FORBES AND ELIZABETH
MUERAT.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sept. 20th, 1780.

My Dear Children, — I had the pleasure two
days ago of receiving by the Cartel, which returns
with this my D. F.'s letters of the 15"' and 24'" past ;
but [neither] the Letter by Penobscot nor Mrs.
Powell's Letters have yet made their Appearance. I
had two Letters from Polly indeed, the latest of the
8th May at Portsmouth where she was attending her
Sister's Embarkation. These I mentioned in my last.
Anne's misfortune in being taken would be in a great

m EXILE 279

measure compensated to her by an Interview with her
friends in New England. But to turn to what now
concerns you more nearly, your Connexions in St.
Augustine. Of them we have very favourable Ac-
counts, both from Major Sheriff, whom we as well

as you have seen, and from Capt. Haw of the

Brig John and Mary, lately retaken and brought

hither, who left Mr. F and son well on the 10th

of last month. It might have been practicable for
him and me, had we been very desirous of keeping up
a Correspondence, to have exchanged some tho not
many Letters by way of New York and even by
London. For this omission your Pa, having had
the least to do, is the most to blame. He, J. F., per-
plexed with much Business and much Company,
may more readily be excused. In the scarcity of
your letters from him, the inclosed though of an old
date may not be imacceptable. I shall write him
soon by way of New York, and recommend it to the
care of Dr. Johnston in Georgia, in which channel
you may likewise send your Letters, or by Charles-
town from New York. What are my Sentiments of
his D. F.'s returning with her Sons soon to him, it
is needless for me to say. Her feelings and of
course her view of men and things must necessarily
be different from those of an old man, who has seen
much of the World in several Climates, and upon
that Experience forms an Estimate of Life and of
the way of Life most likely to procure that health,
Tranquillity, Resignation and firmness of mind
which have the best chance for happiness or what

280 JAMES MUERAY, LOYALIST

comes nearest to it. Besides, lie is altogether a
stranger to the embarrassments and Difficulties of
her present Circmnstances, and for that reason
also an improper Judge for her line of Conduct.

He does not however think with her that Peace is
very Distant. In hope of that he will remain here
this Winter at least, if not called off with a better
man (Gov^. H.^) to a better World. Of such a sum-
mons his present good health and Spirits give no
other warning than what may be looked for at an
advanced Period of Life.

What would you think, should a Peace return
your Conductor from St. Augustine in such Strength
as to be able (for he would be very willing were it
your choice) to convoy you as far as Georgia in
your way back. There we could see our Friend
Philip and family and going or returning put into
Cape Fear to visit Relations and Estate there.

I rejoice to hear you got your paultry supply of
linen. If the thread missing was the black, that
was not sent.

If you could without much trouble get leave to
send us a Barrel of Apples and another to Miss
Cuming, they would be very acceptable. These
Ladies will teU you that they will be very happy to
execute [your] Commands, which they well know
are always for good.

Mrs. Mackay's heirs have sold as much of their
Estate here as amounts to L.600 Ster, and have left
three or four hundred more to dispose of ; a season-

1 Governor Hutcbinson died June 3, 1780.

m EXILE 281

able Supply, the income of which is to be sacredly-
appropriated to their use. Will not this long Letter
and the Inclosed give a claim to Letters from you
both, as long and particular as you can with pro-
priety send. Nothing of your Politics is desired —
we have enough of that from other hands. . . .

I forgot to tell you that Maryanne, after a rest of
13 years, brought us a fine Mulatto Child (Daugh-
ter) last week.

I shall enclose this, your Husband's, and one to
Boy Jack, as you direct under cover to our J. I. C.
Adieu.

Three years later, to anticipate the due course of
events, Mr. Forbes died. Peace had just been de-
clared, and his fortunes were shattered. Hoping to
mend them he took passage with his son James for
London. While the vessel was detained at New
York he wrote to his wife the following letter in
explanation of the journey : —

ebv. john forbes to dorotht foebes.

New York, 1783.

This morning I intended to have wrote you and,
being hurried earlier on board the Packet Duke of
Cumberland than I expected, I am disappointed in
the opportunity of writing so fully as I wished. I
have the pleasure this moment of receiving yours
inclosed by one from M" Inman. I am sorry my
letters have not reached you. I, no doubt, have
been remiss. I have been sick, lingering and unset-

282 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

tied. I meant upon the peace to have paid you a
visit at Boston. ... I had one great stake fixed on
the fate of E. Florida ; thought my property there
secure and Capable of great improvement. Industry
and even economy and frugality were not wanting
on my part. I had retired to where M' Cumings
formerly hved, made it an elegant, beautiful and
convenient situation, & had just expectations, inde-
pendent of my friends, of providing for my family
and of placing the boys in a capacity of raising
themselves and giving scope to ambition, and from
a fitful provision I had the prospect of being worth
not less than 1000 . . . p' Annum ; but this vanishes
to perhaps scarce bare subsistence. . . • Upon hear-
ing of the peace, having all my property in Florida,
I thought by going immediately to England I might
be of use to myself, either by giving a short repre-
sentation of the importance of retaining the pro-
vince under the Crown of Great Britain or in finding
early what hopes I might entertain of being in a
situation of remaining in England with my united
family, when the boys might be educated under my
eye. With this View I took passage on board this
ship for myself & son, and unexpectedly have been
long detained and am here by accident, the wind
answering for Captain Dashwood's coming here to
water, where we have staid a few days. You know
I do not Hke to alter my plan. Had it been possi-
ble consistant with the great object I had in view to
have seen you, I would. James has lately lost much
by my want of health and hurry of business. . . .

m EXILE 283

I cannot tell you what he or I will do in England,
or where we may be fixed. My affairs in Florida I
left as if I had been going only 20 mUes distance.
I could not sell my houses. I did not like to sell my
negroes. I cannot live idle, I must do some thing.
I hate the "West Indies, and I wish to consult you.

I sent you a power of Atterney, and in case it has
not reached I will send another. I must soon return
to Florida to settle my affairs.^ My love to the
boys

On board the Duke of
Cumberland packet on the way to Sandy Hook.

One more gleam of hope shows itself in the fol-
lowing letter, the last to be printed here from Mr.
Murray's pen. He was ready, if by that means a
reunion of the family could be accomplished, to
begin life anew in His Majesty's Province of Maine.
One consideration only makes him pause, — his fear
of endangering the interests of his friends in Boston
by building up a rival town.

1 After Mr. Forbes's death, Mrs. Forbes, hoping to recover some-
thing from his estate as well as from her father's, made the expedi-
tion to Wilmington and St. Augustine spoken of in a previous chap-
ter. Her efforts were fruitless, but Mr. Forbes had owned lands in
Florida which had been given over to the Spaniards at the close of
the war, and for these lands she did receive compensation afterward
from the British government. Her son James finished his education
abroad. He afterward came to this country and married. John
died unmarried. Ralph Bennet Forbes married Margaret Perkins.
See John Murray Forbes, Life and Recollections, edited by Sarah
Forbes Hughes.

284 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

JAMES MUREAY TO DOKOTHT FOKBES AND ELIZABETH

MUEEAT.

Halifax, FeR 17th, 1781.

My Dear Children, — About a Week ago I
received by way of New York your Letters of the
14th and 15th Nov', and Mr. Dowse's of the 8th
of that month. That you are all well gives us no
small Pleasure. Health, Patience and Resignation
wUl enable you, I hope, to endure with Firmness the
Remainder of your Difficulties from the War, which
by everything we hear seems to draw near a close.
In this View, therefore, I think it will be improper
to further teize Mr. E. for the interest due from
him.

Fifty pounds lawful money of the late Mr. Hoopers
Estate I paid to John Rowe the 25th July 1760, upon
his note of hand bearing interest, and that sum,
except what Interest he has paid, was left in his hand
when I left Boston. The Principal and Interest due
I thiuk he might pay to you, giving him security to
indemnify him. for his note and Mr. Dowse's order
joined to mine which shall be annexed to this, or
even mine alone may be sufficient.

The Rumour for some time here is that the Pro-
vince of Main is to be effectually settled under the
King's Protection early in the Summer, and that
the New England Refugees are to be invited thither.
If that is to be the Case, your old Father wiU, if
he lives, make one. You know he delights in form-
ing New Settlements, where Improvements proceed
rapidly. Yet he confesses that, in regard to his

IN EXILE 285

Friends in and about Boston, whose Interest if that
settlement goes on vigorously will be much affected,
in Regard to them, he wishes to forgo that Plea-
sure, that Boston, after all it has done and suffered,
may yet hold up its head as a principal Town in
America.

In a former letter you were told that the Two
Sisters M. and G.^ had upon good terms, L.800
Ster., got quit of their landed Property here. All
(except the little Tenement about L.200 value in
which we live) the produce thereof has been remitted
in bills of exchange for their use.

By Several Letters which have come to Hght, it
appears that the Writers look upon the War as we
do, in a dying Condition. One instance of this is
the sending for your Cousin Polly, to whom I shall
not fail to give notice as early as I can of the Invi-
tation, of which I dare say she will readily accept,
having severely regretted or Cause to regret that
ever she left America. But who can f orsee events ?

You have no Cause to apprehend my crossing the
Atlantic, be Events as they will : My Ambition is
gone to Sleep before me. A Man near Seventy, if
in his Senses, can want hut little here helow, nor
want that little long. Therefore the withdrawing
my Salary for some time past gives me httle con-
cern. . . .

Nothing can be done relative to T. H's note to
you, tiU a Peace, or until his Port be quite open.
But of this, more when we meet, which I hope will

' Mrs. Murray and Mrs. Gordon.

286 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

be in a few montlis, either in the Province of Main
or at Boston. . . .

But the Maine scheme and all others for reunion
upon earth were to come to naught. Mr. Murray's
health had for some years been precarious. It now
failed rapidly, and in the latter part of the year 1781
he died. The following letter from Mrs. Inman,
dated Cambridge, July 22, 1782, contains all the
particulars that have been preserved : —

" Letters from Halifax to Mr. Greenleaf and Mrs.
Bridgen," she wrote to Dr. John Murray, [said]
" that my brother lay on his death-bed and [gave] the
particulars of his illness. This account I suppressed
and kept the young folks from Town, tho at a gay
season. I perswaded them to keep Thanksgiving,
Chrisen-Mass, and New Year here, making an ex-
cuse that Mrs. Belcher was not able to go abroad.
Letters never arrived from Mrs. Murray till February.
Happy for them it was near Spring, they were in
such a situation that I was afraid they would fall a
sacrifice to grief. We kept them moving from
place to place with some chearful sympathizing
friends. They are now better tho at times very
dull. They will ever regret being absent from their
Father."

Mrs. Inman survived her brother only a few years,
and these few were sad ones. Her friends were scat-
tered, her means reduced, and her health was under-
mined. At intervals she thought of repairing to
England. " My attachment to this country," she

IN EXILE 287

wrote, " has been violent, but these times and the
death of our much loved Brother has wean'd me in
such a measure that I am anxious for the sun to rise
and the wind to blow that shall clear me of this
once happy shore."

In another letter, written from Providence, Sep-
tember 18, 1783, she says : —

" Had not this cruel war taken place, it would
have been in my power to have put my Dear Polly
into a state of Independence : the ill consequences
of it we have felt in common with thousands on this
Continent ; from the most exact computation Mr.

I has lost five thousand pounds sterling and

lived a great part of the time in the sugar house
with only Jack Marlebor'h for a servant. As we
had only fifty pound a year, he was servant enough.
As I did not take paper, this was all we could com-
mand. As to Intrest, I have received none these
nine years, therefore I sold a house as soon as hard
money came in play, and remitted you the money.
As to my personal expenses they do not amount to
fifty pound sterling these nine years ; dress I thought
needless, as I could neither entertain nor visit, so I
took the old method to Clout the auld as the new
was dear. . . .

"We are now upon a visit at Providence and
stay at Mr. & Mrs. Clark's, where we see your sons
every day ; ^ by their friendship and attention they

^ Anne Murray Powell resided in Canada after the Revolution.
Her sister Elizabeth, it seems from this letter, was to join her. How
many of Dr. John Murray's children were at that time in America

288 JAMES MURRAY, LOYALIST

make it an agreeable home to us all. Her Brother
is Lieut. Governor, and makes this place an agree-
able assylum to the distressed Refugees, where their
friends assemble from all quarters to see them. The
uncommon attention we meet from her connexions
convinces us of her attachment to our family. It
gives me pleasure to see John so happy. Your son
James is doing very well under the Parental care
of his Brother who is very fond of him. Eobert,
who I am much pleased with, we left at Cambridge
under the care of Mrs. Forbes, as he had a slight
indisposition which rendered the journey improper.
We hear he is recovering. Offer my Love to my
sister and all the family at Wells and Norwich. Do
not be surprised if you see me attended by one of
your sons one of these days. I threaten it very
seriously ; they say I have lost my health and you
know I had rather change Climates than remain
what they call poorly. What say you my
Brother?"

Mrs. Inman never accomplished the projected
visit to her brother ; her strength was unequal to
the journey. On the 25th of May, 1785, with suf-
ficient warning of the end to enable her to close
gently her relations with the world, and to distribute

does not appear. James had joined John in Providence, as the next
paragraph of the letter indicates, and Robert apparently had lately
come over from England. Of the ten or more children six, viz.,
John, Anne, Robert, Elizabeth, George, and James eventually set-
tled in America. Mary, Charlotte, Helen, and Charles remained in
England. Another son, "Valentine, who died young, is mentioned in
Dr. John Murray's letters.

IN EXILE 289

among those to Avhom she had always been a gener-
ous giver her last remembrance and farewells, she
died, to the passionate grief of her nieces and the
keen regret of her friends.

In the year 1783 the conclusion of peace brought
rehef even to the Tories in America. Not so, in-
deed, to Dr. Murray, who had despairingly written
from England : " Poor Britain ! How much like
Babylon and Carthage in her fall, and how nearly
will she resemble them in her fate ! The nations
around already loll out the tongue, and the owl and
the bittern may soon take possession of her palaces."

Ehzabeth Murray, in 1785, married Mr. Edward
Hutchinson Robbins, who, in 1780, when he was but
twenty-two years of age, had been a member of the
convention which framed the Constitution of Massa-
chusetts, and who, as Representative and Speaker
of the House, as Lieutenant Governor, as member of
the Governor's Council, and as Judge of Probate,
continued to serve the State in office and out of
office as long as he hved. Elizabeth's children^
were Ehza; Sarah Lydia, who married Judge Howe;
Anne Jean,^ who married Judge Lyman of North-
ampton ; Mary, who married Paul Joseph Warren
Revere, a son of Paul Revere ; Edward Hutchinson ;
James Murray, into whose hands Brush Hill after-
wards came ; and Catherine.

With the death of Dr. John Murray, in 1792, the
record of the elder generation closes. But his chil-

1 See Appendix.

" See Recollections of my Mother, by Susan I. Lesley.

290 JAMES MUKRAY, LOYALIST

dren across the sea and his brother's children
accepted philosophically, if not without reservation,
the new order, while the descendants comprising the
third generation were American to the core. Indeed,
two sons of Mary Bobbins Revere, grandsons of
Paul Revere, and great-grandsons of James Murray,
fell on the battlefield in the war for the Union, giv-
ing to their country hves derived on the one hand
from the Patriot, and on the other from their Tory
ancestor.

APPENDIX

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REMARKS ON THE GENEALOGY OF MURRAYS

BY ARCHIBALD M. HOWE

The accompanying " Genealogy of Murrays " * conforms al-
most exactly to the lineage printed, under the title of " Murray
of Philiphaugh," in Burke's " Commoners," vol. iii. pp. 56-59,
and Burke's "Landed Gentry," vol. ii. of 1898, p. 1078. T.
Craig-Brown, under the same title, in " The History of Selkirk-
shire, or Chronicles of Ettrick Forest," vol. ii. p. 335, prints the
tree, which corresponds in many ways, hut gives names of direct
line and of male issue only. One or two slight variations in the
table contained in the Appendix from Burke's list printed on
page 3 of this volume wiU he observed.

I have no doubt that the identification of John Murray of
Bowhill and his issue was made by a competent hand from fam-
ily manuscript in the possession of James Murray Robbins.

II

GRANDCHILDREN OP JAMES MURRAY

A

Children of Dorothy Murray Forbes and John Forbes, mar-
ried February 2, 1769.

James Grant, born November 22, 1769.
John Murray, born August 13, 1771.
Ralph Bennet, born June 11, 1773.

1 See Table.

APPENDIX 295

B

Children of Elizabeth Murray Bobbins and Edward Hutch-
inson Bobbins, married November, 1785.
Eliza Bobbins, born August 26, 1786.
Sarah Lydia, born December 16, 1787.
Anne Jean, born July 3, 1789.
Edward Hutchinson, born March 24, 1792.
Mary, born October 16, 1794.
James Murray, born June 30, 1796.
Catharine, born March 25, 1800.

Ill

THE MURRAY FAMILY

BY SAJRAH LYDIA HOWE

[This account of the early history of the Murray family,
Mrs. Howe, daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Hutchinson
Bobbins, abridged, as her own explanation indicates, from
Scott's introduction to "The Sang of the Outlaw Murray."
The abridgment, interspersed by Mrs. Howe's comments, was
prepared as a convenient reference for her family, without any
expectation on her part that it would ever be printed. Mrs.
Howe died in 1862.]

It is well known that, from the conquest of England by the
Normans (1066) to the accession of James IV. of Scotland
(1603) to the united kingdoms, a perpetual discord was kept
up between the people of both countries respecting the lands
of each, and during a great part of nearly five centuries the
borderers lived in a fearful state of mutual enmity and aggres-
sion. It appears that the family of Murray of Philiphaugh
took an active part in these hostilities.

The song of the " Outlaw Murray " was found by Sir
Walter Scott among the papers of Mrs. Cockburn, of Edin-
burgh, a friend of Sir Walter's mother, and the author of that
beautiful song, " I 've seen the smiling of fortune begging."

Sir Walter's prefatory remarks upon the ballad, and his
notices of our ancestors, form an admirable commencement of

296 APPENDIX

that brief narrative in which the American branch of the old
border race are chronicled. The ballad commemorates a trans-
action supposed to have taken place betwixt a Scottish monarch
and an ancestor of the ancient family of Murray of Philip-
haugh in Selkirksliire.

" It is certain that during the civil wars between Bruce and
Baliol, the family of PhUiphaugh existed and was powerful, for
their ancestor, Archibald de Moravia, subscribed the oath of
fealty to Edward I., 1296. It is, therefore, not unlikely that
residing in a wild and frontier country, they may have, at one
period or other during these commotions, refused allegiance
to the feeble monarch of the day, and thus have extorted from
him some grant of territory or jurisdiction. It is also certain
that by a charter from James IV. dated November 30, 1509,
John Murray is vested with the dignity of heritable sheriff of
Ettriok Forest, an office held by his descendants tiU the final
abolition of such jurisdiction, by 28* Geo. II. cap. 23."

The name Moravia, first contracted to Moray, then altered to
Murray, was originally Norman, which accounts for the ready
allegiance to the English king.

The ballad connects the refusal of allegiance with the grant
of the sheriffalty, but Sir Walter supposes the former event to
have been considerably anterior to the latter ; but that the bard,
" willing to pay his court to the family," combined the two
as in direct connection. He also supposes that Murray of
1509 was a man of great energy of character, and that James
IV. was willing to conciliate him that he might engage his
services to keep peace on the border. James had married
the Princess Margaret, a daughter of Henry VII. of England.
Ettrick Forest was claimed by the Scottish monarch as part of
the crown lands, and given as part of her jointure to his queen.
He was, therefore, desirous that Murray should be engaged in
his interest as a defender of the family property. " In order to
accomplish this object it was natural for him, according to the
policy of his predecessors, to invest one great family with the
power of keeping order among the rest. It is even probable
that the Philiphaugh family may have had claims upon part
of the lordship of Ettrick Forest, which lay intermingled with
their own extensive possessions. . . .

APPENDIX 297

" It is farther probable that the Murrays, like other border
clans, were in a very lawless state, and held their lands merely
by occupancy, without any feudal right [without any charter
from the king of either country]. Indeed, the lands of the vari-
ous proprietors in Ettrick Forest (being a royal demesne) were
held by the possessors, not in property, but as the . . . tenants of
the crown ; and it is only about one hundred and fifty years [this
written about 1800] since they obtained charters. This state
of possession naturally led to a confusion of rights and claims.
The kings of Scotland were often reduced to the humiliating
necessity of compromising such matters with their rebellious
subjects.''

Sir Walter Scott supposes the scene of the ballad to have
been " Hangingshaw, the seat of the Philiphaugh family."
" The merit of this beautiful old tale," he says, " it is thought,
will be fully acknowledged. It has been for ages a popular
song in Selkirkshire." One of his friends, Mr. Plummer, the
sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire, assured him that he remembered
the insignia of the unicorns so often mentioned in the ballad
upon the old tower of Hangingshaw. This tower has been
demolished. " It stood in a romantic and solitary situation on
the classical banks of the Yarrow. When the mountains around
Hangingshaw were covered with the wild copse which consti-
tuted a Scottish forest, a more secure stronghold for an outlawed
baron can hardly be imagined." See in the baUad the line,

" ! gin it stands not pleasantlie ! "

The tradition of Ettrick Forest describes the outlaw Murray as
a man of prodigious strength, and that he was at length slain
by Buccleuch, or some of his clan, on a little mount covered
with fir-trees near Newark Castle. A varying tradition relates
that the fatal arrow was shot by Scott of Haining from a ruined
cottage on the opposite side of Yarrow. There were extant in
the latter part of the last century some verses on his death.

Sir Walter composed the ballad from various recitations,
and it is to me an affecting circumstance that two stanzas of it
were repeated to him by that iU-fated traveler Mungo Park,
from whose mind the legendary love of his country was never

298 APPENDIX

eradicated. "The arms of the Philiphaugh family are said
to allude to their outlawed state. They are those of a hunts-
man, and are blazoned thus : Argent, a hunting horn sable,
stringed and garnished gules, on a chief azure, three stars of the
first. Crest, a demi-f orester, winding his horn proper. Motto :
Hinc usque supema venabor."

These arms are engraved upon two pieces of plate formerly ^
in possession of Mrs. S. L. Howe, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This lady was UneaUy descended from the Philiphaugh family,
her great-grandfather, Mr. John Mui'ray, having been a younger
brother of that house.^ His son, James Murray, Esq., the grand-
father of Mrs. Howe, bequeathed the silver vessels to his daugh-
ter, the late Mrs. Elizabeth Bobbins.

IV

EGBERT BENNET

[From Jeffrey's History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire,
vol. ii. p. 366.]

Robert Bennet . . . was a remarkable man in bis day. He was
a stern Presbyterian ; and for maintaining his principles was re-
peatedly fined and imprisoned. In 1662 he was forced to pay
1200 pounds before he could get the benefit of the act of in-
demnity. His offense was desertion of his parish church and
refusing to attend the conforming clergymen. In 1670 he at-
tended the open-air ministrations of John Blackadder and
others. In 1676 he was charged with being at a conventicle
held at Selkirk Common, and failing to appear before the Privy
Council he was outlawed and his goods confiscated. On his
being apprehended some time after and carried before the
Privy Council the charges were referred to his oath and on his
refusing to swear he was sentenced to be carried to the Bars
and imprisoned until further orders. He was, however, detained
in Edinburgh ToUbooth and again taken before the Council,
charged with attending field conventicles at which Welsh,

1 Now in possession of Archibald M. Howe and James Murray Howe.

2 There is a slight error here. It was the father of Mrs. Howe's great-
grandfather who was the younger brother of that house.

APPENDIX 299

Blackadder, and others preached, and also harboring and reset-
ting in his own house Welsh and others. On being examined
he admitted the charges, but refused to refrain from attending
conventicles or to attend his own parish church. For his con-
tumacy he was fined in 4000 merks and ordained to be impris-
oned in the Bars till the fine was paid. In February, 1678, a
petition was presented by Mrs. Bennet praying that her hus-
band might be liberated from prison to attend upon her death-
bed. Interest having been made with the Duke of Lauderdale
and the Bishop, leave was granted him to go to Chesters tiU
18th of March following, on which day he was to reenter the
Bars under penalty of 4000 merks. In 1680 he was again
imprisoned in the Bars because he would not forbear attending
Covenanting preachers. After suffering imprisonment for
eleven months he was liberated upon paying 1000 merks.
Bennet was alive in 1701. His descendants continued to pos-
sess the manor for four succeeding generations.''

DR. JOHN MURRAY OF NORWICH

[Extracts from "A General History of the County of Norfolk,"
Norwich, 1829, vol. ii. p. 1204, et seq. Published anonymously,
but a note in the British Museum copy gives John Chambers as

author.-']

John Murray, M. D., the founder of the Scot's Society, etc.
in Norwich, resided for a few years in this parish (i. e. St.
Simon and Jude). This amicable philanthropist was a native
of Scotland, and born January 29, 1720, at Unthank, in Esk-
dale ; he served for many years as a surgeon in His Majesty's
Navy, but having received his diploma from Edinburgh, re-
tired from the service upon half pay, and in 1751 settled at
Wells in this county, where he practiced as a physician tiU
1768, when he removed to this city (Norwich). Here he dis-
tinguished himself by encouraging every charitable pursuit, and
was one of the first and most zealous promoters of the Norfolk

1 The extracts were made by F. B. Forbes, from the copy in the British
Musetun, in 1885.

300 APPENDIX

and Norwich hospital, which he afterwards attended with the
utmost perseverance and assiduity, until within a short time of
his death, when increasing infirmities obliged him to relinquish
an employment so congenial to his humane and benevolent dis-
position. He also founded the Scot's Society in Norwich,* to
assist those of his distressed countrymen who could claim no
parish relief, and as it flourished beyond his hopes, through the
patronage of the Earl of Rosebery, Sir William Jerningham,
and various other subscribers, he extended the benefit of the
society to foreigners of all nations. Dr. Murray died in the
parish of St. Andrew, September 26, 1792, and was buried in
WeUs churchyard, where on a square column is the following
inscription : —

East Side : I. M. M. D. Hie situs est Pater, FUius, Frater,
omnium amicus. Hostes caetera dicant.

Love ye the stranger.
Be ye wise as Serpents and harmless as Doves.

West Side : John Murray, M. D., died September 26, 1792.
Aged 71 years : a man universally beloved, and eminently dis-
tinguished by his domestic virtues, unaffected piety, profes-
sional abilities, and entensive benevolence, to whose memory
this column is erected by his affectionate widow and children.

North Side : Sacred to the memory of Mary Murray aged

^ The Scot's Society in Norwich was founded Novemher 30, 1775, in the
following manner. It had heen customary for the natives of Scotland re-
siding in this city to celebrate the feast of St. Andrew with some degree
of cheerfulness : at the breaking up of one of these anniversary meetings,
the company being pretty large, an overplus of 3s/6d was found in the
hands of Dr. Murray, who collected the reckoning and who proposed mak-
ing it a fund for the purpose mentioned above : to this sum 10s were added,
being money put under a hat, aa proposed by the collector, to relieve any
Scotchman who might come to Norwich in distress, and might need the
whole or any part of this small sum. The year passed without any claim
being made, and the same idea being pursued at the next anniversary,
1775, when the sum collected amounted to upwards of £3, the society was
regularly formed, and in 1784 altered its name to that of " The Society of
Universal Good Will." After the death of Dr. Murray the society gradu-
ally declined, and what remained of its funds was transferred with the
consent of its patrons to the Society of Friends of Foreigners in Distress
and other institutions of a similar nature in London.

APPENDIX 301

eighty-eight. Widow of the late Dr. John Murray. After an
exemplary fulfillment of the various duties of a wife, a mother,
and of a pious Christian, her meek spirit was called to receive
the reward of the righteous, on the 7th March, 1819.

South Side : In the same grave with those of his father, are
deposited the remains of Thomas Archibald Murray, M. D.,
late of London, who in aU respects exemplified the character of
his revered parent. Cut off in the flower of his youth, he yet
fulfilled the duties of a long Ufe. His task accomplished, his
pure spirit was summoned home, to receive the reward of piety
and virtue, on the 16th day of March, 1802, in the 28th year of
his age.

Dr. Murray was the author of works on " The Gradual Abo-
lition of Slavery," on the " Medical Department of the Navy,"
and " Tracts relating to the Scot's Society in Norwich," etc.

VI

LETTER FROM MARY MURRAY TO MRS. BARNES

NoKwiOH, Oototer 10th, 1792.
I will not tell you in the language of complaint that I have
lost the best and most indulgent of Fathers, the kindest and
most affectionate of Friends — let me rather endeavor to in-
form you my Dear Aunt, with the composure of a Christian
that my beloved Parent was released from his sufferings on the
26th of last month and I trust is in possession of that high re-
ward allotted to those who by patient continuance in weU doing
seek for Glory and Honor, and Immortality — yet the weak-
ness of my nature strives with that firm faith which his saint
like spirit labored to implant in my mind and till this evening
I have felt myself unequal to the task of retracing scenes which
can never be blotted from my memory, and this is the first vol-
imtary product of my pen since the miserable day on which I
last addressed you. Prepared as we ought to have been for the
event, I was harassed beyond description on its approach. The
night of the 24th I passed at the bed-side of my Father, whose
senses were then on the verge of departure, and tiU near two in

302 APPENDIX

the morning ke gave manifest tokens of pain ; a little interval
of ease was succeeded by total insensibility and in that state he
continued till between three and four the next morning when he
resigned his guileless spirit into the hands of his Creator with-
out a groan. My Dear Mother and aU her Children took their
final leave some hours before : my Aunt and my beloved friend
supplied our place and Charles was called before the scene was
closed. I cannot regret my absence at the time — I had staid
by him to the last moment that it was possible to be of use or
comfort to him and the hour of trial was at hand which called
for a renovation of strength and spirits. My only Parent was
now to be comforted ; at first she shed no tears but the sight of
her children produced the salutary shower which relieved her and
I am truly thankful that I can now add that she is tolerably well,
since the last duties were performed and that the mournful pre-
paration for them seemed to excite her to exertions of which a less
perfect affection would have been incapable. It was my Father's
wish to be buried with his Children at Wells, and my Brothers
were earnest that aU his wishes should be fulfilled as far as
their power could extend. On the morning of the 30th the
whole family met at breakfast and after bidding my Mother a
solemn farewell we began our melancholy journey. My Aunt
whom my Father had requested to see him interred, my Sister
Powell and Eliza, Charles, Tom and the first pledge of his love
as he used tenderly to call me, followed the Hearse in a Mourn-
ing Coach — James the 2d, Mr. Brownes William and Grant
on horseback. We passed through many Villages where my
Father was known and loved, and the manners of the people
were in unison with our feelings, silent and dejected. About
three miles from WeUs we were met by some friends and be-
fore we reached the Town, great part of its inhabitants joined
the mournful procession. We stopt at the Church gate about
5 o'clock — there my Uncle met us and the whole of the Cere-
mony was performed in a manner equal to our most sanguine
wishes. The blessings of the poor, and the affectionate respect
of his equals followed my dearest Father to his grave, while
the tear of sympathy alleviated the sorrow of his children and
friends. The next morning Mrs. Powell and myself paid our

APPENDIX 303

last visit to the earthly repository of our Father and I hope
while I remain in this part of the world to he indulged with an
annual journey to the place of my nativity endeared to me hy
the reflection that more than 20 years of absence had not de-
prived us of its esteem. On our return home we found my
Mother better than we could have supposed. Charlotte/ Helen
and our good friends the Miss Brittinghams had staid with her
in our absence by turns. My own feelings on this occasion I
cannot describe, nor do I wish you to conceive them. We are
yet busy and unsettled ; much is to be done, after all is over
little will remain but that little, I have reason to believe wUl be
wholly devoted to my Mother — at least it is my fervent wish
and earnest desire that it should be so, and I have not a doubt,
nay I am certain of the concurrence of all who have any right
to interfere in the business. My sister has been busied in fit^
ting her two eldest Boys for school ; they left us on Monday.
Helen goes in a few days. My Aunt has left us so we are on
the reduced or reducing system. Mrs. P. hopes you will excuse
her a little longer — for the reasons I have aUedged and for the
present you must, my Dear Aunt, extend your indulgence to
me, for I am sensible this letter is too prolix, too particular —
yet as you have wandered with me in the labyrinth of perplexi-
ties for so long a time I could not avoid vnshing for your so-
ciety a little longer, till we find the friendly clue which is to
conduct us to a peaceful Home. If you wish to have a tran-
script of my dear Fathers character from the Public Papers,
my next letter shall inclose it to you and in this I must mention
that he has left no Will, but in his memorandum Book was
found a request that " as soon as might be convenient to the
Minister of the Parish, and his own family, he desired a Plain
Practical Sermon might be preached at the Parish Church
from the third verse of the 12th Chapter of Daniel " — fre-
quently would he have this chapter read to him, and with a
voice softened by humility would say " I hope I have turned
many to righteousness, and when the last comes shall be per-
mitted to stand in my place." A few days before my Father's

1 Dr. Murray's daughter, afterwards Mra. Brown, and author of " Judah'a
Lion," a religions work once widely read.

304 APPENDIX

departure, he was sufficiently sensible to ask me to read and
pray by him. You wiU believe I was not slow to obey him, and
could you but have seen him at the moment when he closed his
expressive eyes and lifted his trembling hands to Heaven, you
would have acknowledged that he was fitted for the society of
just men made perfect. Oh, may the Almighty look down
with equal favor upon us to lead us in the path of everlasting
life there if needful to the perfection of happiness, we shall aU
know each other, or find every human tie superceded by a£Eec-
tion of a superior kind !

iOctober] 11th.
My spirits were so exhausted last night that I quitted you,
my Dear Aunt, rather abruptly and even now cannot sufiiciently
collect my ideas to enter upon less interesting subjects. Every
day seems to realize the frightful dream in which I have been
so long engaged, and even the hurry of business cannot divest
my mind of painful recollections, but a truce with complainings.
My next will I hope be less gloomy, for I shall continue these
narrations from time to time because you say they amuse you
and because I feel myseK gratified by the tender interest you
take in what concerns us. James is a kind and attentive
Brother — he seems disposed to make us aU comfortable and
my Mother feels infinite consolation in his presence. The chil-
dren engage her attention and are much attached to her, but
she has some complaints which make me fear her constitution
has received material injury and this is not a season for her to
try change of air and scene. Anne's health seems quite estab-
lished. Elizabeth's is not so good and poor Tom is just recover-
ing from the shock his Father's death occasioned. He was
drooping many days before but I hope a short time wiU restore
his pristine strength. We are going to send him into the
Country ; it is now too late for him to go to Edinburgh this
year. We have all had a loss but that he sustains is the most
serious and severe, however, I hope his Brothers will complete
his education according to the wishes of the best of Men and
Fathers. In speaking of the family I must not omit mention-
ing my chief comfort and support. He is well and always
a welcome guest among us ; perhaps Ann when she writes will

APPENDIX 305

give you her opinion of him and if I may judge from her con-
duct, she feels prejudiced in his favor. He is quite charmed
with her graceful person and pleasing manners, and I look
forward to a less uncomfoAable winter than my former fears
had anticipated.

God bless you my dear Friends. Accept the united regards,
of this famUy and believe me.

Your dutiful and affectionate Niece

M. MUEKAT..

VII

BONDS GIVEN BY MRS. INMAN TO JOHN AND RALPH.
FORBES

To John Forbes, son of Dorothy Forbes, now resident in
Cambridge, in the County of Middlesex Greeting : as an encour-
agement to you, to induce on your part a due attention to your
studies during your continuance at Harvard CoUedge, a proper
observance of the rules and regulations prescribed for the gov-
ernment of said CoUedge, and to excite in you a suitable emula-
tion to such a universal deportment as weU to the government
of said CoUedge as to aU to whom you shaU in any relation stand
as shaU at aU times be consonant to your rank and character, I,
Elizabeth Inman of Cambridge, in the County of Middlesex,
wife of Ralph Inman of the same Cambridge, Esquire, do
hereby on my part for myself, my heirs executors and admin-
istrators promise and engage to and with you the said John
Forbes that if you shaU during your continuance at and mem-
bership of said CoUedge conduct yourself in such manner as
to receive the honors of said CoUedge by having the degree of
Bachelor of arts confered on you and in every respect so as to
meet the approbation of your mother the said Dorothy Forbes
and of your aunt Miss EUzabeth Murray then and in such case
whensoever the said Dorothy and Elizabeth after your being so
graduated shaU in any express manner signify their said appro-
bation of your conduct and deportment, immediately thereupon
I wiU pay or cause to be paid to you the said John Forbes
whether of fuU age or not the sum of one hundred and thirty-
three pounds and six shillings and eight pence lawful silver

306 APPENDIX

money to your own absolute use the same not to be subject to
the controul or management of any one.

In witness whereof I the said Elizabeth have hereunto set
mine hand and seal this twelvth day of July in the year of our
lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three.

Eliz : Inmah-.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of
Edward H. Kobblns.

A second bond, in substantially the same terms, was given by
Mrs. Inman to Ralph Forbes.

VIII

DOROTHY FORBES

Although Mr. Murray speaks so disparagingly of his chil-
dren's and nieces' habits of industry and occupation, it is prob-
ably an exaggeration of the usual love of diversion which
possesses all young people, under twenty years of age, and
which it would be a pity to be without. Certainly it was not
true of Dorothy, who from her childhood was a most devoted
and disinterested worker and helper, equal to any emergency.
She was as industrious as she was vivacious. I recall the beau-
tiful recollections my mother and aunt gave of her after she
became an almost helpless invalid from rheumatic gout. They
were little girls, and for some three or four years were em-
ployed to carry her meals to her room, and sit by her while
she ate them. They described her cheerful spirit, in the midst
of pain — her love of the best books, from which she cuUed pas-
sages to read to them, and from which aU three gathered much
instruction, and discussed either with serious zest or with merri-
ment. In the book, " Recollections of my Mother,'' on the
438th page, is an extract from a letter which Mrs. Lyman wrote
to her daughter in China, in which is a paragraph on her Aunt
Forbes's fine influence on her nieces. S. I. L.

APPENDIX 307

IX

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF HON. JAMES MURRAY
ROBBINS

BY HON. ROGER WOLCOTT

[Reprinted by permission of the Massachusetts Historical Society]

James Murray Robbins was born and died in the town of
Milton. In him were united many strains of the old Puritan
blood of the early migrations to the Colony. It was perhaps
this inheritance which constrained him and many of his ances-
tors to be useful and prominent in town and state affairs, and
which tended also to make his mind conservative of the old
methods and ideas when called upon to meet new questions
which the later years brought for solution.

His first ancestor bearing the name of Robbins in America
was Richard, who, with his wife Rebecca, established himself
on the southerly side of Charles River, in Cambridge.

The third son of Richard was Nathaniel, — born, as was his
father, in Scotland, — who married Mary Braziex', and lies in
the Old Cambridge burying-ground. His oldest son, Nathan-
iel, was born Feb. 28, 1678, and married Hannah, daughter of
William Chandler, of Andover, and Mary Dane.

Their third son, born Aug. 11, 1703, was Thomas Rob-
bins, whose second son, by his first wife, Ruth Johnson, was
Nathaniel, born AprU 17, 1726 (H. U. 1747). After his grad-
uation he pursued at Cambridge the study of theology, and in
1751 was ordained minister of the church in Milton, in which
office he died May 19, 1795. During this long pastorate of
forty-four years, covering the period of the war of the Revolu-
tion, he performed his duties both as minister and as citizen
with zeal and self-devotion. His sympathy and support were
given to the popular cause, and in 1788 he represented the town
in the convention which adopted the Federal Constitution. A
good if not brilliant preacher, a healer of strife whether between
churches or individuals, a man of sagacity and penetration, pos-
sessed of " a very accurate acquaintance with human nature,"
" he carried his amiable quality so far that even when those

308 APPENDIX

■were mentioned wlio were blasted and flagitious, it was his cus-
tom to suggest an extenuation if possible." From contempo-
rary evidence, too, we are assured that " in prayer he was
remarkable for copiousness and facility of expression, and at
funerals in particular he was admired for a variety of pathetic
sentiments pertinent to every person immediately concerned,
and to each incident that occurred." His wife was Elizabeth,
youngest child of the Hon. Edward Hutchinson, and Lydia,
daughter of the Hon. John Foster, who was a leading merchant
and for many years Councillor.

Edward Hutchinson came of a distinguished family, was for
many years Judge of Probate for SufBolk County, and was
Treasurer of Harvard CoUege from 1726 untU his death in
1752. He was uncle of Thomas Hutchinson, who has received
undeserved opprobrium as the last royal governor of the Pro-
vince. His father, Elisha Hutchinson, Representative, Assist-
ant, and Councillor, was the son of Colonel Edward Hutchin-
son, who met his death in an ambuscade in King PhiUp's War.
Colonel Hutchinson was the son of William Hutchinson and
his more famous wife, Ann Marbury, whose heretical theology
caused her banishment by the austere Puritanism of the Bay
Colony, and who finally fell a victim, as did her son, to the
tomahawk of the savage.

The oldest son of the Rev. Nathaniel and Elizabeth Robbins
was Edward Hutchinson Robbins, born Feb. 19, 1758 (H. U.
1776). After admission to the bar in 1779 he established
himself in Milton, and entered upon a long career of useful
and honorable service to his native town and to the State.
When only twenty-one years of age he was elected a delegate
to the convention which framed the Constitution of Massachu-
setts, being the youngest member of that distinguished body.
For fourteen years he represented the town of Milton in the
Legislature, and for nine years he occupied the Speaker's chair.
For the performance of the duties of this position he was ex-
ceptionally qualified both by temperament and attainments. In
1796 he was appointed chairman of a commission to buy the
necessary land and erect a new State House, the vote creating
the commission also authorizing the sale of the Province House

APPENDIX 309

and the release to the town of Boston of the State's interest in
the Old State House. For ninety years the structure then
erected has well sustained the test of changing taste. In 1796
he was elected by the House of Representatives to the United
States Senate ; but in this choice the other branch of the Legis-
lature failed to concur, on the ground that the commercial inter-
ests of the State should be represented by a merchant rather
than by a lawyer, and Mr. Goodhue, of Salem, was finally
elected by the two Houses. For four years he filled the office
of Lieutenant-Governor during the official term of Governor
Strong. He was for seventeen years Judge of Probate for
Norfolk County, and throughout his long and useful life his ser-
vices were in constant requisition, both in public and private
station ; for his integrity and sound judgment rendered them of
great value. He early became deeply interested in the purchase
and settlement of the Commonwealth lands in Maine, and for
more than forty years made annual visits to the region near
Passamaquoddy. The profit from these investments did not
accrue in his hf etime ; but his name is perpetuated in the town
of Robbinston on the St. Croix River, which attained consider-
able importance as a shipbuilding and trading port, until the
decline of this industry checked the town's growth and con-
verted its population from a seafaring to an agricultural
community.

In November, 1785, he married Miss Elizabeth Murray,
daughter of the Hon. James Murray and Barbara Bennet.
Mr. Murray emigrated from Philiphaugh, Scotland, where his
grandfather was hereditary sheriff of Selkirk, to North Caro-
lina, and established himself as a planter on the Cape Fear
River. He here became a member of the Council of that Pro-
vince ; but in 1765, having lost his wife and several children,
he removed to Boston with his two surviving daughters, who
afterwards became Mrs. John Forbes and Mrs. E. H. Bobbins.

Mr. Murray's sister was the wife of James Smith, whose
sugar-house stood next below Brattle Street Church, and was
occupied as barracks by Colonel Dalrymple's regiment, whence
Captain Preston's company marched to the Boston Massacre.
After the death of Mr. Smith his widow gave to her two nieces

310 APPENDIX

the estate on Brush Hill, in Milton, where, soon after 1734, Mr.
Smith had built the house in which the subject of this memoir
was to pass the greater part of his life. Edward Hutchinson
Robbins died in Boston, Dec. 29, 1829, and was deeply mourned
by his friends and neighbors.

James Murray Robbins, his sixth child, was born June 30,
1796, in the old Gooch house on Milton Hill. When he was
nine years old his father removed from Milton HiU to Brush
Hill, within the same town, making his residence in the Smith
house, which had become the property of his wife ; and here,
eighty years later, the son died. He received his school educar
tion at the Milton Academy, which his father had been largely
instrumental in founding, and of whose board of trustees the
father and son filled the office of president for seventy-six
years. At the age of fifteen he entered the counting-room of
the prominent Boston merchants, James and Thomas Handasyd
Perkins, and there acquired a thorough training in business
habits.

But the time was not propitious for commercial enterprise
or success ; the widespread stagnation of business, consequent
upon the blockade maintained by the British fleet, and the
hardly less oppressive acts of our own government, seemed to
bar the way to entering upon the career of a merchant. In
1814 his cousin, John Murray Forbes, who was consul-general
at Hamburg, invited him to accept official employment at the
consulate ; and it is not difficult to imagine how gladly the boy
of eighteen must have exchanged the round of dull and apa-
thetic duty in the counting-room for the excitement of the
voyage and of foreign travel.

Nor was his journey to Hamburg devoid of incident. Pas-
sage was taken in a Swedish brig to sail from New York ; and
Mr. Robbins reached that city by the way of Albany, passing
down the Hudson by steamer. While awaiting the sailing of
the brig, he gave two days of volunteer service in throwing
up intrenchments on Brooklyn Heights. The brig, after
many delays, put to sea, but when off Block Island was cap-
tured by a British cruiser, and taken to Gardiner's Bay, where
was the rendezvous of the squadron. On the ground that the

APPENDIX 311

vessel was owned in Connecticut, the admiral adjudged her
to be lawful prize, and, placing her under command of a
prize-officer, ordered him to report at Plymouth, England.
Mr. Robbins was the only American on board, and was there-
fore, unlike the others, made prisoner of war. On reaching
the English port, however, his extreme youth, and, it is said,
the kindly interest of some ladies who had been his fellow-
passengers, interceded in his behalf, and he was released. It
must be admitted that a considerable experience had been
crowded into a brief time for the lad who had so recently left
the provincial and beleaguered town of Boston.

On reaching London, the anxiety and perhaps suffering of
the voyage were doubtless succeeded by admiration and wonder ;
for the great metropolis was celebrating with pageant and fete
and every demonstration of popular rejoicing the return of
European peace, and the relief which it brought from the intol-
erable burdens of almost universal war.

But the adventures which were to attend his journey to
Hamburg were not yet ended. The vessel in which he soon
again embarked in London for his destination went ashore in
a dense fog at the mouth of the Elbe. The wind was strong,
and the danger of the vessel going to pieces was great ; but
after several hours of exposure the passengers and crew suc-
ceeded in effecting a landing, saving, however, from the wreck
only the clothing they wore. They were upon an island, and
found shelter in the light-house, until, some days after, a boat
transported them to the mainland. After such adventures,
and in a destitute condition, did Mr. Bobbins at length reach
Hamburg, where the warm greeting of his kinsman, Mr.
Forbes, must have been not unwelcome to him. He at once
set himself resolutely to learn the German language, entering
for this purpose the family of a country clergyman, and even-
tually acquired a rare accuracy and facility both of expression
and pronunciation.

In 1815 Mr. Forbes was summoned from his post of duty by
Mr. John Quincy Adams for conference in regard to the nego-
tiation of commercial treaties with foreign powers, and Mr.
Robbins was left in charge of the consulate with the title of

312 APPENDIX

vice-consul. The peace was of short duration. The news of
Napoleon's escape from Elba electrified Europe, and the weeks
of fevered excitement which followed culminated at Waterloo.
Soon the streets of Hamburg echoed the tread of BlUcher's vet-
erans ; and at a civic banquet given to the victor, to which the
representatives of all foreign governments were invited, the
boy of nineteen represented the United States. After Mr.
Forbes's return to Hamburg, Mr. Robbins by his orders acted
for some time as consul at Elsinore, — a residence which could
not have been barren of vivid and lasting impressions.

Mr. Forbes was subsequently transferred to Rio Janeiro ;
and Mr. Robbins, then about twenty-one, returned to Boston.
In three years he had indeed seen much, had breathed the edu-
cating atmosphere of stirring events, and had learned the
important lesson of self-reliance.

For two years he made voyages as supercargo to the West
Indies and the Baltic in the interest of his old employers, and
then entered into a partnership with his elder brother, Edward
Hutchinson Robbins, for the manufacture and sale of woolen
goods. In the commercial panic of 1829 the firm went down
in the prevalent ruin, and Mr. Robbins seems then to have re-
solved never to expose himself to a recurrence of like ill-fortune.
He did not again engage in business on his own account ; but
his peculiar fitness, acquired through the varied experience of
these past years, led to his appointment by some of the lead-
ing woolen manufacturers of New England as agent for the
purchase of wool in Germany. This transferred him again
to the scene of his former official duties ; and there he now
spent a year and a half, for which he was liberally compen-
sated.

Before his departure he had, with the help of a guide,
made a careful and extended survey of a large part of the
almost untrodden wilderness of Maine, led thereto by his
father's large interests in the pine forests of Passamaquoddy ;
and, impressed by the future importance of this product, he
had himself secured, by purchase from the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, a tract of 20,000 acres near the Schoodic Lakes.
On his return from Germany in 1834, — although the days had

APPENDIX 313

not yet come of the great speculation in Maine lands, which
was to prove so disastrous to many, — he was able to sell this
land at a very large advance upon the purchase money.

In the same year he married Frances Mary Harris, daughter
of Abel Harris, of Portsmouth, and Eooksby Coffin, daughter of
WiUiam Coffin, of Boston, a cousin of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin.
They had no children ; but the marriage proved a most happy
one, and Mrs. Eobbins's death in 1870 was a deep and enduring
grief to him.

The sale of his Maine estates was a most fortunate transac-
tion, for it furnished the means of realizing his long-cherished
wish of becoming the sole owner of the old homestead on
Brush HiU, where much of his boyhood had been passed, and
which was endeared to him not more by its rare beauty of
location than by the memory of the large family circle which
had gathered about its hearthstone, and of the long list of
guests — many of them the distinguished men of the time —
whom his father's almost lavish hospitality had there brought
together. This was his home during the remainder of his life.
His love for it was a passion. It forbade change, which in his
eyes could never seem improvement. The old buildings, the
fences and walls, were to remain as they were in his boyhood.
The old trees, many of them imported ehns, generously planted
by former generations, — nay, their very saplings, — should
be untouched by the axe so long as he should live ; and the
fine fringe of trees which everywhere skirts the lichen-covered
stone walls of the estate attests his vigilant guardianship. The
extensive view from the house, including the distant blue of
the harbor, the twin church spires, the wooded range of the
Blue HiUs, and the broad and verdant meadows, was always
a source of keen enjoyment to him.

Once, however, his treasured possessions were threatened
by a great danger, which roused him to the fullest activity in
their defense. The new and vigorous town of Hyde Park,
spreading with the rapid growth of a manufacturing commu-
nity, sought the authority of the Legislature to add to its terri-
tory by annexing a portion of Milton, including Mr. Robbins's
estate. His energetic opposition to this project and his untir-

314 APPENDIX

ing efforts to defeat it were successful. In the town of Milton
he had been born, and in the town of Milton he would die.

This was not the only service he rendered to the town of
his birth, for which his affection was always so strong. In
1837 and again in 1861 he represented Milton in the General
Court, and in 1842 was one of the senators from Norfolk
County. He was frequently called to serve upon committees
whenever the interests of the town were involved or impor-
tant action was to be taken, and his judgment was always
considered to carry much weight and influence. Originally a
Whig, he joined the Republican party at its formation, and
thereafter consistently acted with it, although not without criti-
cism of some of its most important tendencies and measures.
His wife had long shared the opinions and counsels of the anti-
slavery leaders ; and in him was awakened a sense of indignant
resentment by the assault upon Charles Sumner in the Senate
chamber. In the demonstration made by the citizens of Bos-
ton upon Mr. Sumner's return, Mr. Robbins bore a prominent
part.

While a young man he developed a strong taste for histori-
cal and antiquarian research, and throughout life this taste
directed much of his reading and thought. He made a careful
and leisurely exploration of Dorsetshire, England, whence came
so many of the first settlers of Massachusetts Bay, and made
his mind a storehouse of accurate information touching the
families and events which had illustrated the early history of
the New England town of Dorchester. When this history was
written in 1859, he was the author of the first six chapters. In
1862 he accepted the invitation of the town of Milton to de-
liver the address at the celebration of its two hundredth year.
In this address he traces in much detail the lives of the promi-
nent early and later inhabitants of the town, giving abundant
proof of his wide information regarding family history, and of
his patience in research and exactness in statement. By vote
of the town in 1883 he was made chairman of a committee ap-
pointed to prepare a history of Milton, and to him were referred
the early pages of this work for correction and elucidation. In
spite of his great age at this time, his co-laborers in the work

APPENDIX 315

bear willing testimony to the extreme value of the aid thus
rendered. In 1860 he was elected a Resident Member of the
Massachusetts Historical Society, and in this association he
found always much interest and enjoyment.

But as the years went on, the naturally conservative ten-
dency of Mr. Robbins's mind led him to withdraw himseH in
great measure from active participation in the afEairs of men.
He praised the time that is past, and looked forward with
apprehension to the time that is to come. To borrow Mr.
Lowell's thought, evolution in his view too often took on its
lacking initial, and wore the threatening aspect of revolution.
He failed to perceive the logical necessity of social and politi-
cal change ; and as he looked forth upon the passing events of
the time, he deemed himself gazing upon the tui-bulence of the
rapids, just above the fateful plunge of the cataract. As he
could not stay the current, he sheltered himself more and more
within the seclusion of his beautiful estate, and with no trace
of bitterness or cynicism devoted himself to the life of a country
gentleman, finding pleasure in his acres and venerable trees,
reading and studying as his inclination directed, and living in
friendly and helpful intercourse with his neighbors.

His bearing and manner were dignified and genial. In his
old age his dress and appearance seemed to reflect the un-
changing stability and respectable antiquity of his opinions.
His figure was sturdy and erect, his features massive, and his
smile ready and pleasing. Through judicious management his
property was much increased, and he left a large estate.

Until within two years of his death, at the ripe age of
eighty-nine years and four months, he retained in a remark-
able degree his vigor both of body and mind. He died on
Monday, Nov. 2, 1885, in the home he had loved so well, and
was buried, as were his father and grandfather, in the ceme-
tery of the town which the three generations had served and
honored. With him disappeared the family name, which for
one hundred and thirty-five years had been held in respect and
affection by his fellow townsmen.

INDEX

Abolitionists, friends of Mr. and
Mrs. James Murray Eobbins, t.,
■ri.

Adams, Samuel, his action regard-
ing the Boston Massacre, 164.

Auchmuty, Judge, 108.

Banishment, Act of, 272.

Barker, Mrs., 104.
. Barnes, Henry, his attitude in Revo-
lutionary matters, 174 ; injury of
his husiness and property, 175-
179 ; threats of the Committee of
Safety, 181 ; life in England, 259,
264.

Barnes, Mrs. Henry, letters from,
118-120, 141, 142; visits Cam-
bridge, 181, 182; letters regard-
ing Revolutionary affairs, 174-
179, 186-188 ; brief mention, 191,
202 ; letters to, from E. F., after
the evacuation of Boston, 244—
254; life in England, 259, 260,
264.

Belcher famUy, 252, 253.

Bennet, Andrew, uncle of Murray,
10 ; Murray's letters to, 10, 11,
14, 15, 17-19, 49-51 ; wills prop-
erty to Dorothy Forbes and Eliza-
beth Murray, 139.

Bennet, Mrs. Andrew, letters to,
from Murray, 46-49, 96; Mrs.
Smith visits her, 128.

Bennet, Anne, sister-in-law of Mur-
ray, 70 ; letters to, from Murray,
97, 110-112.

Bennet, Barbara. See Murray, Bar-
bara (Bennet).

Bennet, Jean, sister-in-law of Mur-
ray, 70 ; letters to, from Murray,
70-75, 97, 110-112; Mrs. Smith
visits her, 128 ; letter to, from
Elizabeth Murray, 134.

Bennet, Robert, grandfather of Mur-
ray, 8, 298, 299.

Bennet family, maternal relatives of
Murray, 8, 9.

Berkeley, Governor, big remark
about schools, etc., quoted, 65,
66.

Blank patents, use of, in North
Carolina, 31, 32, 53, 54.

Boston Massacre, Murray's account
of, 162-165.

Boutineau, James, 159 (note).

Braddook's defeat, 84, 85.

Brown, W. S., is involved in the
quarrel between James Otis and
John Robinson, 159-161.

Brunswick, North Carolina, rival of
New Town (afterward Wilming-
ton), 21 ; ceases to be the port of
entry, 51, 55-57.

Burgoyne's campaign, 252.

Campbell, Elizabeth Murray. See
Inman, Elizabeth (Murray).

Campbell, Thomas, husband of Eliz-
abeth Murray, 105 ; his death,
107.

CaroUnas, the, conditions in, at time
of James Murray's going there.

318

INDEX

16-35 ; Ijusiness and finance, 37,
38, 53.

Chronicle, the, Tory newspaper, 168,
169.

Church services in North Carolina
in the eighteenth century, 26.

Clark, Annie. See Hooper, Annie
(Clark).

Clark, Barbara (Murray), sister of
James Murray, 12, 13 ; accom-
panies her brother to America,
16 ; is married to Thomas Clark,
38 ; letters to, from Murray, 13,
14 ; birth of her son James, 47 ;
son Thomas, 49, 76 ; letters to,
from Murray, 77, 78, 82, 83, 98,
99.

Clark, James, 47, 82, 98, 156 (note).

Clark, John Innes, 82, 98, 112, 132,
153, 156, 183, 192, 194 ; letter to,
from Elizabeth Inman, 260, 261 ;
from Murray, 272-274.

Clark, Thomas, husband of Barbara
Murray, letter to, from Murray,
39-42 ; intimate friend of Mur-
ray, 44; sheriff and collector of
the port, 49, 60 ; his death, 69.

Clark, Thomas, Jr., 49, 82, 98, 153,
156.

Concord, battle of, 182.

CoTcnanters, battle-ground upon
which they checked Montrose, 7.

Dalrymple, Colonel, Murray's letter
to, concerning Captain Preston,
166, 167.

Danforth, Judge, 184 (note), 190,
206.

Davis, Benjamin, 262.

Deblois, Gilbert, anecdote of, 108 ;
defends Murray when attacked by
a mob, 161, 232.

Deblois, James Smith, anecdote con-
cerning his name, 108.

Dobbs, Governor, 80; friction be-

tween him and Murray, 85-91 ;
letter to the Board of Trade, 86,
87.

Don, Lady Mary, letter to, from
Murray, 84, 85.

Douglas, Lieutenant Archibald, 44,
47, 48, 50 ; letter to, from Mur-
ray, 82, 83.

Dunbar, William, Murray appren-
ticed to, 10.

Elliot, Mr., lawyer, 84.

Ellison, William, Jr., accompanies

Murray to America, 16, 24-26.
EUison, William, St., 17, 19, 24;

letter to, from Murray, 24-26.
Elms in Boston and vicinity, 107,

108.
Ettrick Forest, High Sheriffship of,

in the Murray family, 5, 296.

F., E., letters from, to Mrs. Barnes,
after the evacuation of Boston,
244-254.

Flucker family, 183 (note).

Forbes, Dorothy (Murray), 69, 76,
77 ; lives with her aunt in Bos-
ton, 97-99, 104, 110, 111 ; corre-
spondence between her and her
father, 95, 96, 100, 101, 113 ; her
marriage to Kev. John Forbes,
117 ; letter to, from Mrs. Barnes,
118-120; from Mrs. Stenhouse,
134, 135 ; from her father, 136-
141 ; returns from the South to
New England, 146; letter from,
to Mrs. Inman, 147, 148 ; attempts
to recover her patrimony, 156
(note) ; in Boston at beginning
of the siege, 182, 192 ; joins Mrs.
Inman at Cambridge, 194 ; as-
sumes care of the farm at Brush
Hill, 198-200 ; letters from, 206,
213 ; letters to, from her father,
218-220, 223-228 ; affairs at Brush

INDEX

319

Hill, memorial in regard to threat-
ened confiscation of Mrs. Ii}man'a
property, 228-230 ; letters to, from
her father, 230-236, 256, 257, 202-
266, 269-271, 275-281, 284-286;
from William Hooper, 237-240 ;
from Elizabeth Murray, 241-244;
from her hushand,2Sl-283 ; makes
journey to the South, 283 ; her
cliaracter, 306.

Forbes, James Grant, 146, 283, 294.

Forbes, John, Jr., 146, 283, 294;
bond given to him by Mrs. lu-
man, 305, 306.

Forbes, Rev. John, husband of Doro-
thy Murray, 117, 223, 224, 256;
letter from, to his wife, 281-283.

Forbes, Ealph Bennet, 149, 283,
294 ; bond given by him to Mrs.
Inman, 306.

Frankland, Sir Charles Henry, 180.

Franklin, Benjamin, 83.

French and Indian War, 82, 83.

Gage, General, 174, 180, 189 (note),
222 ; leaves Boston, 232, 234.

Gordon, Mrs., sister-in-law of Mur-
ray, 112, 255, 277.

Gridley, John, 159.

Grimke, Mr.,20, 34.

Hallowell, Benjamin, 137.

HaUoweU, Robert, 137.

Hancock, John, 169, 170.

Hazel, James, letter to, from Mur-
ray, 67-69.

Hooper, Annie (Clark), 99, 112, 114 ;
is married to WUliam Hooper,
117.

Hooper, John, rector of Trinity
Church, 114 ; his death, 116.

Hooper, Mrs. John, her relations
with the Murray family, 214, 215,
217, 219, 224, 233.

Hooper, WiUiam, practices law in

Wilmington, North Carolina, 114 ;

letter to, from Murray, 115, 116;

marries Annie Clark, 114-117 ;

letter from, to Mrs. Forbes, 237,

238.
Howe, General William, his depar-
ture from Boston, 236, 237.
Howe, Mrs. S. L., of Cambridge,

Mass., 298.
Howe, Sarah Lydia (Robbins), 289,

295.
Hutchinson, Governor Thomas, 152,

153, 165, 232; letter from, to

Murray, 257, 258.
Hutchinson famUy, 308.

Immigrants exempted from taxa-
tion in North Carolina, 59.

Inman, Elizabeth Murray, sister of
James Murray, comes to America
and lives with her brother, 39,
47-49 ; goes with him to Soot-
land, 67 ; establishes herself ia
business in Boston, 69, 103, 104 ;
is married to Thomas Campbell,

105 ; letter from, to her brother,

106 ; death of her husband, 107 ;
is married to James Smith, 107-
109 ; plans for her brother's re-
moval to Boston, 113, 114; her
distress in parting with her niece,
Dorothy, 117, 118; visits Mrs.
Barnes, 119, 120; death of her
husband, 120 ; goes to Scotland,
120 ; letters to, from Mrs. Barnes,
121, 122-124 ; journal of her jour-
ney to Scotland, 124^131 ; sends
her nephew and niece to New
England to engage in business,
131 ; letter to, from her brother
James, 132 ; from Elizabeth Mur-
ray, 133 ; from Mrs. Barnes, 141,
142 ; from her brother John, 143-
146 ; from her brother James,
146, 147 ; from Mrs. Forbes, 147,

320

INDEX

148 ; from her trotlier James,
162, 165, 169, 170; from Mrs.
Barnes, giYJug account of Revolu-
tionary troubles in Marlborough,
175-179; her return to Boston
and marriage to Ralph Inman,
141-143 ; settlement in Cam-
bridge, 179, 180 ; her defense of
the place during the opening of
the Revolution, 183-186, 189;
letters from, during this period,
183-186, 190-194, 201, 202, 205-
208, 211, 212 ; letters to, 186-190,
195-198, 202-205, 209-211; re-
moves to Brush Hill, 205, 206,
213 ; letter to, from her brother
James, 214 ; letter from, to Mrs.
Inman, 215-218 ; letter to, from
her brother James, 221, 222 ; re-
mains in Boston after the evacu-
ation, 240 ; confiscation of her
Cambridge estate, 240 ; her cheer-
fulness and courage, 244-249 ;
letter to, from her brother,
256 ; letters from, to Dr. John
Murray, 286-288; her death,
288, 289; bonds given to John
and Ralph Forbes by her, 305,
306.

Inman, Ralph, marries Elizabeth
(Murray) Smith, 142, 143; his
farm in Cambridge, 179, 180 ; is
in Boston when it is shut up by
the British, 182 ; letters to Mrs.
Inman, 189, 197, 198, 209-211;
letters from Mrs. Inman, 190-194,
201, 202, 205-208, 211, 212, 215-
218 ; mention by Murray, 219,
220.

Innes, James, settles in New Town,
North Carolina, 35, 36 ; joins
North Carolina troops in Spanish
war of 1739, 44 ; letter to, from
Murray, 45 ; mention of, 46 ; god-
father of James Clark, 47 ; com-

mander in the French and Indian

war, 82, 83.
Irish immigrants in North Carolina,
28, 31, 38.

Johnston, Gabriel, Governor of North
Carolina, 17 ; his relations with
Murray, 23, 30, 31, 52 ; conflict
with the " blank patent gintry,"
32, 33 ; a faithful servant of the
king, 52 ; his decision in regard
to tie votes, 57, 68 ; his death, 85.

Kerr, Jean, cousin of James Murray,

16, 49.
Knox, General Henry, 183 (note).
Knox, Mrs. Henry, 183 (note).

Lexington, battle of, 182.

Linzee, Mrs. John, 189, 190, 256,

263.
Lyman, Anne Jean (Robbins), 289,

295.

Mackay, General Alexander, 140,
158.

Mackay family, 104, 105.

Malcolm, Robert, 15 ; letter to,
from Murray, 15.

Maxwell, Captain, 242, 243.

McCulloh, Henry, " His Majesty's
Surveyor . . . ," 28, 29; letters
to, from Murray, 30-36, 54, 55,
61-66 ; ocenpies Murray's house
in Wilmington, 49.

McNeil, Bell, 99.

Mein, John, attacked by mob, 168,
169 ; his establishment placed un-
der attachment, 169 ; letters from,
to Murray, 170-172 ; Murray's as-
sistance of, 173, 174.

Mifflin, General, 183 ; letter from,
to Mrs. Forbes, 227, 228.

Moore, Roger, his relations with
Murray, 22, 29; his attitude to-

INDEX

321

i

■wards immigration, 31 ; displea-
sure at removal of port of entry to
New Town, 51 ; disputes over land
patents, 55.

Moore family, of Brunswick, North
Carolina, 21, 22, 32.

Moseley , Edward, of North Carolina,
22.

Murray, Mrs., formerly Mrs. Thomp-
son, second wife of James Murray,
112, 113, 121, 122, 137, 140, 179.

Murray, Anne. See Powell, Anne
(Murray).

Murray, Anne (Bennet), mother of
James, 2, 3 ; removes with her
family to Hawick, 16 ; her death,
38.

Murray, Barbara. See Clark, Bar-
bara (Murray).

Murray, Barbai'a (Bennet), wife of
James, 9, 49, 51 ; her marriage,
67, 69 ; stays for a while in Bos-
ton with Elizabeth Murray, 69,
104 ; joins her husband in North
Carolina, 75 ; her health, 84, 94 ;
her death, 94-96.

Murray, Betsy, daughter of James.
See Bobbins, Elizabeth (Murray).

Murray, Dorothy, daughter of James.
iSee Forbes, Dorothy (Murray).

Murray, Elizabeth, daughter of
James. See Bobbins, Elizabeth
(Murray).

Murray, Elizabeth, sister of James.
See Inman, Elizabeth (Murray).

Murray, James, correspondence be-
tween him and his grandson, James
Murray Bobbins, preserved at MU-
tOD, Mass., vi., vii. ; portraits of,
mentioned, viii. ; birthplace and
early home of, 1, 2 ; his brothers
and sisters, 2 ; early life, 8, 9 ; ap-
prenticeship to William Dunbar,
10 ; his plans for his brothers and
sisters, 11-15 ; goes to America,

16-20; early experiences in the
Carolinas, 20-28 ; purchases laud
in New Town, North Carolina, 29 ;
is appointed coUeotor of the port,
29, 31, 32, 33, 34 ; mercantile busi-
ness, 33-35, 37, 38 ; makes journey
to Scotland to settle his mother's
estate, 39 ; brings with him to
America his brother William and
sister Elizabeth, 39 ; imports large
cargo of goods, 40, 41 ; goes again
to Scotland, 50 ; becomes engaged
to his cousin Barbara, 51 ; dis-
pleasure of Roger Moore and oth-
ers at his appointment as collector
of the port, 51, 52 ; is drawn into
political life, 52, 54; member of
the Board of Councillors, 52, 56 ;
although public-spirited, never a
true American, 65 ; interested in
establishment of schools, 65-67 ;
goes to Scotland in 1744, 67; is
married to Barbara Bennet, 69 ;
daughter Dorothy born in London,
69 ; returns to America in 1749,
69 ; leaves wife and child in Bos-
ton, 69 ; narrowly escapes ship-
wreck, 71-75 ; is joined by Mrs.
Murray, 75 ; settles upon a planta-
tion which he calls Point Repose,
75-77 ; names of his children, 77 ;
his views on industi-ial and finan-
cial conditions, 78-80 ; on union
of the colonies, 83 ; his disagree-
ment with Governor Dobbs and
suspension from office, reinstate-
ment, 85-94; death of his wife
and two children, 94-98 ; visits
Boston, 109-115 ; his opinion of
New England, 111 ; his marriage
to Mrs. Thompson, 112, 113 ; re-
moves to Boston, 114 ; his care for
the Hooper family, 116, 117 ; set-
tles at Brush Hill, 120 ; makes a
journey to England, 136-141 ; to

322

rSTDEX

the South, 146, 147; his loyalist
principles, 150-153; ruin of his
sugar business, 153, 155 ; his atti-
tude on Kevolationary questions,
156-158, 162-nO, 172-174 ; is at-
tacked by a mob, 158-161 ; is ap-
pointed inspector of the port of
Salem, 180 ; letter to, from his
daughter Dorothy, 199 ; sails for
Halifax with General Howe, 237 ;
life in exUe, 255-286 ; letter from
Governor Hutchinson, 257, 258;
visits New York, Newport, and
Philadelphia, 255 ; plans for visit-
ing the South, 280 ; for beginning
life anew in His Majesty's Pro-
vince of Maine, 283 ; his death,
286.

Murray, Sir James, son of Sir John,
7.

Murray, Jean, daughter of James,
77, 95, 96.

Murray, John, brother of James,
plans for his education, 11, 12 ;
surgeon's mate on the Tilbury, 44,
45 ; letters to, from his brother,
45, 46, 92, 93 ; brief mention, 50 ;
82; his circumstances, 99; his mar-
riage and residences, 101 ; letters
to, 101, 102, 105, 112 ; his business
and family, 139 ; letter from, to
Mrs. Inman, 143-146 ; letters to,
from his brother, 152-157 ; writes
pamphlet " On the Gradual Aboli-
tion of Slavery," 157 ; brief men-
tion, 264 ; his children in America,
287, 288 ; his opinion on English
affairs in 1783, 289 ; biographical
notice of, from History of Norfolk-,
299-301 ; account of his death and
burial, by his daughter, 301-305.

Murray, John, cousin of James, let-
ter to, from James, 36-38.

Murray, John, father of James, 3, 7,
8,9.

Murray, John, nephew of James, goes
to America, 131, 132, 183 ; thinks
of joining the American army,
260, 262; letter to, from Eliza-
beth Inman, 261.

Murray, John, of Bowhill, 7.

Murray, John, of Falahill, "The
Outlaw," 4-7, 295-297.

Murray, Sir John, 2d, 7.

Murray, Sir John, the first desig-
nated as " of PhUiphaugh," 7.

Murray, Sir John, of Philiphaugh,
uncle of James, 10 ; letters to,
from his nephew, 10, 75-77, 92-
94, 109, 110.

Murray, Mary, cousin of James, 9.

Murray, Mary, niece of James, goes
to America, 131, 132 ; returns to
England, 183, 220, 263, 285 ; let-
ter from, to Mrs. Barnes, 301-305.

Murray, Mary, wife of Dr. John,
300, 301.

Murray, Polly. See Murray, Mary,
niece of James.

Murray, Thomas Archibald, son of
Dr. John, 301.

Murray, William, brother of James,
comes to America, 39 ; enters mili-
tary lite, 44, 45, 47, 48 ; brief men-
tion, 50, 139.

Murray family, ancestors of James
Murray, 3-7 ; genealogy, 292-298.

Murray's barracks, 158, 165, 166,
230.

Negroes in the Carolinas, 39, 41, 67-
69.

"New Liverpool," North Carolina.
See Wilmington.

New Tovm, North Carolina. Se«
Wilmington.

Newark Castle, 6.

North Carolina, land troubles, 32,
33 ; business and financial condi-
tions, 37, 38 ; quit-rent law, 52-

INDEX

323

64; afBairs in the Assembly, 58-
60.

Oglethorpe, General, his expedition
against St. Angustine, 44.

Oswald, Richard, & Co., letters to,
from Murray, 78-80, 81.

Otis, James, is assaulted by John
Robinson, 159, 160.

Paddock Elms, 108, 155.

Philiphaugh, description of, 6, 7.

Point Repose, Murray's North Caro-
lina plantation, 75, 156 (note).

Porter, John, letter to, from Mur-
ray, 42.

Powell, Anne (Murray), niece of
Murray, goes to America, 136, 183 ;
is married to William Dummer
PoweU, 220-222, 223 ; returns to
England, 223, 234, 263 ; comes to
Canada, 276.

Preston, Captain, his part in the
Boston Massacre, 163-168, 178.

Pringle, Lieutenant WUliam, 44, 47,
48,50.

Putnam, General, 187.

Putnam, Daniel, son of General
Putnam, befriends Mrs. Barnes
and Mrs. Inman, 187, 188, 213.

Quinoy, Edmund, 102, 103.
Quit-rent law in North Carolina,
52-55.

Revere, Mary (Robbins), 289, 290,
295.

Revolution, The American, early in-
dications of, 114, 122, 132, 137;
the Stamp Act, 150, 151 ; Mur-
ray's opinion on the situation,
156, 157 ; " Sam Adams's two
regiments," 158 ; the Boston Mas-
sacre, 162-168 ; mobs and confis-
cation of imported goods, 168-170,

175-179 ; conditions about Boston
and Cambridge, 180-212; battle
of Bunker Hill, 213 ; scheme for
burning Boston, 221, 222 ; senti-
ment in England, 222 ; Gage's
recall, 232; winter of 1775-76,
234 ; fortification of Dorchester
Heights and evacuation of Bos-
ton, 236, 237 ; conditions in Bos-
ton and vicinity after the evacua^
tion, 241-249.

Bobbins, Anne Jean. See Lyman,
Anne Jean (Robbins).

Robbins, Catherine, 289, 295.

Robbins, Edward Hutchinson, hus-
band of Elizabeth Murray, 108,
289.

Robbins, Edward Hutchinson, Jr.,
289, 295.

Robbins, EUza, 289, 295.

Robbins, Elizabeth (Murray), 77, 97,
99, 106, 111, 112 ; accompanies her
aunt to Scotland, 120-131 ; at-
tends boarding-school in Edin-
burgh, 133 ; letters from, 133,
134, 183 ; life in Brush HiU and
Boston, 221, 223, 225, 226; let-
ters to, from her father, 223-225,
230-236; letter from, to Mrs.
Forbes, 241-244 ; at Cambridge
after evacuation of Boston, 245,
247 ; letters to, from her father,
256, 262-266, 269-271, 275-281,
284-286 ; letter to her father,
267-269; is married to Edward
Hutchinson Robbins, 289 ; her
children, 289, 295.

Robbins, Frances Mary (Harris),
wife of James Murray Robbins,
v., 313.

Robbins, James Murray, v., vi., 289,
294, 295 ; biographical notice of,
by Roger Wolcott, 307-315.

Robbins, Mary. See Revere, Mary
(Robbins), 289.

324

INDEX

Kobbins, Sarah Lydia. Sec Howe,
Sarah Lydia (Rob bins).

Robbins family, 307-315.

Robinson, John, assaults James Otis,
159, 160.

Ruggles, Timothy, 137.

Rutherford, James, letter to, from
Murray, 42-44.

Rutherford, John, settles in Amer-
ica, 42, 43, 49 ; makes journey to
Scotland with Murray, 50 ; is ap-
pointed receiver-general of North
Carolina, 76 ; letter to, from Mur-
ray, 83, 84 ; suspension from office
of receiver-general and reinstate-
ment, 85-92.

Sang, the, of the Outlaw Murray,
5, 6, 295-298.

Scott, Sir Walter, his remarks upon
" the sang of the Outlaw Murray,"
295-297.

Silk-making in North Carolina, 81.

Simpson, Sampson, letter to, from
Murray, 80, 81.

Slavery, sentiment against, in Mas-
sachusetts, 157, 158.

SmaU-pox in Boston, 2.30, 231, 252.

Smith, Elizabeth (Murray) . See In-
man, Elizabeth (Murray).

Smith, James, sugar baker in Bos-
ton, 107 ; imports and sets out
Dutch elms, 107, 108 ; marries
Elizabeth (Murray) Campbell,
108, 109 ; Mrs. Barnes's prayer
for, 119 ; his death, 120.

Smith's barracks. See Murray's bar-
racks.

Sons of Liberty, 122, 132, 161, 162.

Spanish war of 1789, North Caro-
lina's participation in, 44.

Stamp Act, 115, 116, 150, 151, 154,

155.
Stenhouse, Helen, letter from, to

Mrs. Forbes, 134, 135.
Stewart, Charles, letter to, from

Murray, 172-174 ; letters from,

265.
Swiss immigrants in North Carolina,

28, 34-36, 38.

Temple, Mr., letter to, from Mrs.
Inman, 185, 186.

Temple family, 247.

Thompson, Mrs. See Murray, Mrs.,
second wife of James Murray.

Tories, reasons for their position,
152, 153.

Tullideph, David, 17, 19, 23, 31, let-
ters to, from Murray, 27-29.

Unthank, Roxburghshire, Scotland,
early home of Murray, 1, 2.

Wallace, John, letter to, from Mur-
ray, 81.

Walter, Nathaniel, 219, 220.

Washington, George, 215.

Whitefield, George, visits North
Carolina, 65 ; letter to, from Mur-
ray, 66.

Wigs, small demand for, in North
Carolina, 22, 23, 25.

Wilmington, North Carolina (first
called New Town), rival of Bruns-
wick, 21 ; is made the port of
entry, 51, 55-57.

Winslow, General, sets out for Crown
Point, 106.

Wolcott, Roger, his biographical
notice of James Murray Robbins,
307-315.

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